The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) Monday presented corruption risk assessment reports on key public institutions, urging stronger institutional reforms, digital governance, and greater inter-agency collaboration to curb corruption in Nigeria’s health and education sectors.
Speaking at the public presentation of the reports in Abuja, ICPC chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, described the initiative as a major milestone in the commission’s preventive anti-corruption strategy aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and service delivery.
Aliyu said corruption risk assessments should not end as mere reports but must lead to measurable institutional reforms that improve governance and restore public confidence in government institutions.
He said the institutions reviewed occupy strategic positions in Nigeria’s human capital development agenda, as their performance directly affects access to healthcare, primary healthcare services and quality education.
He noted that the assessments identified corruption risks, including leakages in health insurance payments, diversion of medical supplies, ghost workers, procurement irregularities, abandoned school projects and weak oversight mechanisms.
“The corruption risk assessment is not simply an academic exercise. It is a diagnostic tool that enables institutions to identify systemic weaknesses and address them before they negatively affect service delivery and the lives of citizens,” he said.
The ICPC boss said the commission had continued to strengthen its own internal governance through transparent decision-making, merit-based recruitment, digitisation of processes, stronger internal audit systems, conflict-of-interest declarations and improved compliance mechanisms.
He identified digital transformation as one of the most effective tools for preventing corruption, noting that technology enhances transparency by reducing human discretion, improving audit trails and increasing operational efficiency.
Earlier, the Lead Director of the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Eze Onyekpere, said the organisation collaborated with the ICPC, with support from the European Union-funded Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption Programme, to review the implementation of recommendations arising from previous corruption risk assessments.