Supreme court, NAHCON, OAU tagged ‘high corruption risk’ in ICPC’s integrity report

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has listed 15 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) as “high corruption risk” in its latest integrity report.

The commission surveyed 330 MDAs in the report released on Thursday.

According to the anti-graft agency, 308 MDAs were successfully assessed, 15 were non-responsive, and seven were exempted based on exigent government policy.

The scorecard measured institutional integrity through three key performance indicators: management culture and structure, financial management system, and administrative system, which is considered the bedrock of organisational performance and success.

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) placed first in the ranking with an 89.75 score, while the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) came second with 89.33 points, and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC (NBET) placed third with an 88.73 score.

The supreme court, Nigeria Press Council (NPC), National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), University of Ibadan, and Obafemi Awolowo University are among the MDAs with zero points.

Demola Bakare, ICPC spokesperson, said the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (ECIS) is a preventive tool used to assess and enhance compliance in MDAs with ethical standards, policies, and anti-corruption measures.

“This year, 2024, the tool covered 323 responsive MDAs, with 15 MDAs non-responsive and categorised as high corruption risk,” he said.

He said the objectives are to identify organisational gaps and provide actionable insights, advise the government on policy development for oversight, promote self-evaluation and remedial actions within MDAs, and establish an objective rating of MDAs to foster improvement.

According to the findings, no MDA achieved full compliance, 29.55 percent attained substantial compliance, 51.62 percent had partial compliance, 15.91 percent showed poor compliance, and 2.92 percent were non-compliant.

CONSTITUENCY PROJECTS

The commission also released a report on its constituency and executive projects tracking initiative.

Launched in 2015, the initiative tracks the implementation and performance of constituency projects in education, empowerment and capacity building, health, water resources, agriculture, road infrastructure, and power.

The findings of the report showed cases of shoddy, partial, or non-execution of projects; lack of synergy between outgoing and incoming legislators, leading to project abandonment; misuse of government-funded projects on private properties; conversion of project vehicles to personal use; and under-performance and contract over-invoicing.

Bakare said between 2023 and 2024, the ICPC tracked 1,500 projects across 22 states worth N610 billion.

He added that the commission made a cash recovery of N346 million and recovered assets worth N400 million, saving N30 billion for the government.