By Peace Udugba
The Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, has urged Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) performing poorly on the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) to learn from institutions that have demonstrated strong commitment to ethical standards, transparency and accountability.
Aliyu made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at a one-day Peer Review Roundtable for Chief Executives of performing and non-performing MDAs on their Annual Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard.
The event was organised by the ICPC in collaboration with the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC) Programme.
He said the roundtable was designed to promote peer learning and enable public institutions to share practical experiences on strengthening ethics and integrity systems across the public service.
“The MDAs being celebrated today as strong performers on the EICS are proof that the Scorecard works when it is taken seriously; and for MDAs still finding their footing, today’s roundtable is designed exactly for you as a chance to learn from those who are getting it right,” he said.
The ICPC chairman explained that the EICS is one of the Commission’s preventive tools for assessing MDAs’ compliance with ethics, statutes, policies and standards that promote transparency and accountability.
According to him, the scorecard measures institutional performance across Management Culture and Structure, Financial Management System, Administrative System, and Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU).
He added that the initiative also encourages healthy competition among public institutions in promoting ethical governance.
Aliyu underscored the importance of ACTUs, describing them as in-house ethics champions responsible for promoting expected standards, providing channels for reporting concerns, monitoring expenditure and reviewing internal processes for corruption vulnerabilities.
He noted that ACTUs would perform more effectively when they receive adequate support and commitment from the leadership of their respective organisations.
While congratulating high-performing MDAs, the ICPC chairman urged institutions with low scores to see their performance as an opportunity for improvement rather than a source of embarrassment.
“To those still working towards it, please do not see today as a scorecard of shame, but as an honest starting point and an invitation to learn from your colleagues in the room,” he said.
In his goodwill message, the Component Lead of the RoLAC Programme, Dr Emmanuel Uche, commended Aliyu for strengthening institutional processes and sustaining reforms initiated by his predecessors.
Uche said the EICS demonstrated the ICPC’s commitment to helping MDAs identify systemic weaknesses, administrative lapses and procedural loopholes that could create opportunities for corruption.
He urged underperforming institutions to study and adopt effective systems and practices deployed by high-performing MDAs.
In his keynote address, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, represented by the Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, urged public sector chief executives to build resilient institutions capable of withstanding leadership changes, political pressures and economic shocks.
Kana, who presented a paper titled, “The Public Executive: Building Resilient Institutions Beyond Political Tenure,” warned that weak institutional systems could lead to policy discontinuity, organisational instability, loss of institutional knowledge and abandonment of valuable reforms.
He identified clarity of purpose, knowledge management, institutional memory, integrity and ethical leadership as critical pillars of resilient public institutions.
Kana stressed the Federal Government’s zero tolerance for corruption and non-compliance, while calling for stronger collaboration among MDAs and greater engagement with citizens, academia, civil society and the private sector.
He further challenged public servants to see themselves as trustees of public institutions for future generations.
According to him, public officials would ultimately be judged not only by the offices they occupied but by “the institutions we strengthened, the systems we improved, the values we upheld and the foundations we laid for future generations.”
