NNPC SCORES ZERO, RANKS LAST IN ICPC 2025 ETHICS AND INTEGRITY ASSESSMENT

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) is among thirteen federal ministries, departments and agencies that scored zero in the 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission. The NNPC Ltd ranked last out of 357 MDAs assessed, recording zero across all four assessment pillars.

The ICPC published the report on Wednesday, explaining that the scorecard aims to promote transparency, ethical conduct and institutional accountability in public service. The assessment covers four key areas: management culture and structure, financial management, administrative systems, and the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit.

For the 2025 cycle, 360 MDAs were targeted, but three were exempted, leaving 357 agencies evaluated. Presenting the report, ICPC Chairman, Dr. Aliyu Musa, represented by the Director of Systems Study and Review, Olusegun Adigun, said the findings exposed widespread weaknesses. “No MDA achieved full compliance,” Adigun noted. He added that 13 MDAs failed to respond entirely to the assessment and were therefore classified as high-risk, with NNPC leading this group.

According to the breakdown, only 48 MDAs, representing 13.95 percent, recorded substantial compliance. 132 agencies, or 38.37 percent, achieved partial compliance, while 141, or 40.99 percent, showed poor compliance. Twenty-three MDAs, accounting for 6.69 percent, were classified as non-compliant.

In stark contrast to the NNPC’s performance, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission emerged as the best-performing agency with a score of 91.83. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ranked 278th with a score of 38.25. Other top-performing agencies included the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, and the Bank of Industry.

Other non-responsive MDAs joining NNPC Ltd with zero scores include the Institute of Archaeology and Museum Studies, the Federal Civil Service Commission, the University of Calabar, the Cross River Basin Development Authority, and several other colleges and research institutes nationwide.

The ICPC warned that MDAs with persistently low scores would face increased scrutiny and possible enforcement actions. The commission stressed that the objective of the scorecard is to strengthen integrity, accountability and productivity across government operations.

As of the time of filing this report, NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh had yet to respond to the ranking.