The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has identified 13 ministries, departments and agencies as high corruption risk in its 2025 integrity report.
The commission assessed 357 MDAs in its Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard report released on Tuesday.
The EICS, alongside the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units Effectiveness Index, assessed MDAs’ internal control systems, organisational policies and compliance with statutory requirements, serving as a benchmark for peer comparison, government oversight and investor confidence.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission topped the ranking with a score of 91.83, followed by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation at 90.70 and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria with 89.93.
Conversely, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the University of Calabar, the Federal Civil Service Commission and the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons were among the MDAs that recorded zero scores.
Presenting a summary of the report, ICPC Chairman Musa Aliyu, represented by the Director of Systems Study and Review, Olusegun Adigun, said no MDA attained full compliance.
The ICPC chairman stated that of the 344 MDAs assessed, 48 (13.95 per cent) demonstrated substantial compliance, 132 (38.37 per cent) showed partial compliance, 141 (40.99 per cent) exhibited poor compliance, and 23 (6.69 per cent) were classified as non-compliant.
Additionally, 13 MDAs (3.64 per cent) were non-responsive and deemed high-risk.
He noted that 169 MDAs lack clearly communicated core values, mission, and vision for staff understanding, while 191 do not have internal policies on accepting gifts, donations, hospitality, and similar matters, raising potential integrity concerns.
He emphasized that government institutions are expected to have policies guiding employee conduct.
The ICPC chairman also revealed that 102 MDAs lack strategic plans, and 154 do not have monitoring systems or failed to carry out monitoring and evaluation of their programmes, projects, and activities during the review period.
He cited the report, noting that 289 MDAs did not conduct system studies or corruption risk assessments through their ACTUs, while 315 failed to apply the findings of such assessments in their decision-making processes.
On financial management, Aliyu stated that the report revealed 99 MDAs lacked guidelines for granting staff advances, 69 did not ensure timely retirement of advances, and 68 allowed staff to access new advances without settling previous ones.
Furthermore, 114 MDAs failed to submit financial reports to the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, 40 did not remit internally generated revenue as required, and 75 failed to comply with fiscal responsibility provisions.
The anti-graft agency reported that 50 MDAs are facing petitions or are under investigation for procurement and recruitment violations.
The report further revealed that 21 MDAs lack legal instruments formalizing their operations, 16 operate without documented operational manuals, and 24 failed to conduct annual performance appraisals, leading to irregular staff promotions.
