Abuja: The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is set to address existing workforce imbalances and ensure the effective deployment of personnel across the commission. The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, made this announcement while inaugurating the commission’s Workforce and Structural Audit Committee in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the commission will conduct a comprehensive audit of its workforce and structure to align personnel with its anti-corruption mandate. The chairman emphasized the necessity of this exercise to ensure effective deployment across the commission. He described the audit as one of the most consequential internal exercises undertaken by the commission.
Aliyu explained that the audit would provide a verified basis for determining the appropriate workforce structure, skills, and deployment needed to effectively deliver on ICPC’s mandate. Since the commission’s establishment in 2000 and the initial recruitment of 88 officers in 2002, recruitment has occurred at irregular intervals without a coherent workforce progression policy. This has led to imbalances, with a disproportionate concentration of middle and senior-level officers in certain areas.
The audit will examine the commission’s approved structure alongside its actual workforce, deployment, and operational needs to identify gaps and recommend appropriate interventions. Recommendations will be based on verifiable institutional records, including case-tracking data, court schedules, petition registers, and other relevant operational records.
Aliyu cautioned against using numerical ratios alone to determine workforce requirements, stressing the importance of considering the complexity of cases and the need for specialized expertise. He emphasized the need for the ICPC’s institutional identity to consistently reflect its mandate as a law-enforcement and anti-corruption agency.
The chairman clarified that the exercise is not intended to victimise staff or reduce the workforce but aims to ensure effective deployment, strengthen institutional capacity, and build a merit-based structure supporting the commission’s mandate.
Secretary to the Commission, Mr Clifford Oparaodu, commended the chairman for initiating the exercise and stressed the importance of strengthening institutional capacity. He urged the Committee members to give their best efforts to achieve the exercise’s objectives and support the chairman and management in strengthening the institution.
Mr Oche Godwin, the Director of Planning, Research and Statistics and Chairman of the Committee, expressed gratitude for the opportunity and promised to apply principles of integrity and expertise to the assignment.