By Paul Effiong, Abuja
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, has raised alarm over the unchecked impunity of revenue-generating agencies, urging the National Assembly to increase oversight efforts to halt the misuse of public funds.
Speaking yesterday during the 2025 National Conference on Public Accounts and Fiscal Governance, the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu disclosed that many agencies treat public revenue as private property and must be held accountable.
The ICPC boss, who was represented by the Director of Finance, Akporo Michael, also threw his weight behind the federal government’s ongoing tax reforms, describing them as crucial to raising Nigeria’s low tax-to-GDP ratio of 7.8 percent, one of the lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“For the first time, government is serious about raising revenue. The new tax laws are key to boosting our tax-to-GDP ratio to at least 18–20 percent,” he said.
He criticised the underperformance and lack of transparency in some public institutions like the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, drawing a sharp comparison with Saudi Aramco’s $106billion profit in 2024, compared to NNPCL’s $2.4 billion.
“Even if Aramco’s production is 10 times ours, our profit should be at least 10 percent of theirs, not just 2.4 percent,” Aliyu noted.
Beyond revenue, the ICPC boss also called for the harmonisation of the public sector salary structure, which he described as unjust and demoralising.
He, therefore, urged the lawmakers to collaborate with the Salaries and Wages Commission to establish a fair and economically viable pay system that would boost morale and productivity across government agencies.
The commission also advocated for full digitisation of payroll, procurement and revenue systems to eliminate human discretion and block leakages, referencing EFCC’s N21 billion recovery through the IPPIS platform.
It called on lawmakers to pass a comprehensive whistleblower protection law and establish anti-corruption courts to fast-track cases.
The chairman also warned that Nigeria’s survival depends on defeating corruption.
In his address, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, who was represented by a senior official from the bank, called for stronger coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities.
Cardoso also emphasised CBN’s proactive strategy, stressing that macroeconomic coordination, consultation and shared goals between institutions are vital in stabilising Nigeria’s economy and ensuring sustainable development across all spheres of governance.
