ICPC Restructures Workforce, Aligns Personnel With Anti-Corruption Mandate

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to undertake a comprehensive workforce and structural audit aimed at repositioning its personnel structure to effectively deliver on its anti-corruption mandate.

Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, disclosed this on Tuesday while inaugurating the ICPC Workforce and Structural Audit Committee.

Aliyu described the exercise as one of the most consequential internal reforms being undertaken by the commission, saying it would provide a verified basis for determining the appropriate workforce structure, skills and personnel deployment required to strengthen the agency’s operations.

According to him, the audit has become necessary to address longstanding workforce imbalances arising from irregular recruitment patterns since the commission was established in 2000.

He recalled that the ICPC recruited its first 88 officers in 2002, but subsequent recruitment exercises were conducted at irregular intervals without a deliberate policy for ensuring coherent workforce progression.

The situation, he said, had resulted in a disproportionate concentration of middle and senior-level officers in some areas, compared with personnel required at the operational level.

Aliyu said the committee would examine the commission’s approved structure against its actual workforce, deployment patterns and operational requirements, with the aim of identifying gaps and recommending practical interventions.

Beyond restructuring personnel, Aliyu said the exercise would also help strengthen the law-enforcement culture of the commission.

He stressed that the ICPC must consistently project itself as a law-enforcement and anti-corruption institution rather than an agency with an uncertain institutional identity.

The chairman, however, assured staff that the audit was not designed to victimise employees or reduce the workforce; rather, he said, it was intended to ensure effective deployment of personnel, strengthen institutional capacity and establish a merit-based workforce structure capable of delivering on the Commission’s mandate.

Also speaking, the secretary to the Commission, Mr. Clifford Okwudiri Oparaodu, commended Aliyu for initiating the exercise, describing it as an important step towards strengthening the institutional capacity of the ICPC.

Oparaodu urged members of the committee to approach the assignment with dedication and ensure that its objectives were fully achieved.