Nigeria’s anti-graft watchdog has flagged serious weaknesses in public sector governance after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and 12 other federal government agencies scored zero in its latest ethics and integrity assessment.
According to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), the NNPC ranked last among 357 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) assessed under the 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS), recording zero across all four evaluation pillars.
The findings were published by the ICPC, following the conclusion of the nationwide assessment exercise. Of the 360 federal MDAs initially targeted, three were exempted, leaving 357 institutions effectively screened.
The EICS is designed as a diagnostic and accountability tool to strengthen transparency, ethical conduct and institutional resilience across Nigeria’s public service. It measures compliance across four core pillars: management culture and structure, financial management systems, administrative systems, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.
While the NNPC and 12 other unnamed agencies failed to record any score, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission emerged as the top-performing institution, with a score of 91.83. In contrast, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ranked 278th, with a score of 38.25, highlighting wide disparities in governance standards even within the petroleum sector.
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Speaking earlier on Tuesday at the presentation of the scorecard, ICPC Chairman Dr Aliyu Musa, represented by the Director of the Systems Study and Review Department, Olusegun Adigun, said the assessment revealed “widespread weaknesses” in ethical standards and institutional integrity across government agencies.
According to the ICPC, the scorecard has become a key benchmark for tracking governance performance in the public sector, offering insights into systemic gaps and areas requiring urgent reform.
The latest results are expected to intensify scrutiny of underperforming MDAs and renew calls for stronger internal controls, improved transparency, and greater accountability within Nigeria’s public institutions.
