ABUJA – The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources has announced intensified internal reforms aimed at significantly improving its standing in the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) transparency and accountability performance rating.
This development was disclosed on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, during a strategic compliance and performance review session held at the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to senior officials, the renewed efforts are part of a broader mandate to align with the Federal Government’s commitment to public sector reform, institutional integrity, and value-for-money service delivery.
In a statement issued by the Ministry’s Director of Reform Coordination and Service Improvement, the initiative focuses on strengthening procurement compliance, enhancing record-keeping systems, promoting open budgeting, and improving citizen engagement mechanisms, in line with the ICPC’s annual ethics and integrity compliance framework.
“The goal is not just to improve our ranking but to embed a culture of transparency, ethical conduct, and accountability in the petroleum sector. We are implementing structured reforms to meet and exceed the performance benchmarks set by the ICPC,” the official said.
The ICPC’s Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard, introduced in 2020, assesses ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) on parameters such as anti-corruption policies, complaint resolution processes, training, openness in procurement, and accessibility of information.
The Petroleum Ministry’s move comes after previous scorecards flagged areas for improvement in documentation processes and feedback channels, prompting the current leadership to adopt a results-driven approach.
Stakeholders from civil society organisations and accountability watchdogs have welcomed the initiative, urging the Ministry to sustain transparency practices in the oil and gas sector, which has historically faced scrutiny over opaque transactions and governance issues.
The Ministry confirmed that it will host a multi-stakeholder session in July to evaluate reform progress and gather feedback for continuous improvement.
The ICPC is expected to release its next round of compliance ratings before the end of Q4 2025.
