An Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has ranked the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), under Mr Gbenga Komolafe, the most transparent and ethics-compliant agency in Nigeria.
This is contained in the 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard (EICS) report released in Abuja on Wednesday.
The report said contrary to speculations, the ‘commission is not a den of corruption’.
According to the report, NUPRC, with 91.83 points, came tops after the evaluation of 357 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).
“The score reflects ‘Substantial Compliance’ with ethics, internal control mechanisms, and statutory requirements.
“This audit covers the very period Engr. Komolafe was accused of “diverting revenues.
“It is statistically and procedurally impossible for an agency to operate “33 secret bank accounts” and “conceal $20 billion while simultaneously passing the ICPC’s rigorous forensic audit of its internal control,” the report said.
“This data paints a clear picture: The regulator (NUPRC) was enforcing strict compliance and maintaining watertight books, while other players in the sector struggled with transparency.
“The narrative that Komolafe was the problem in the sector has been inverted by the facts.
“It appears his strict regulatory oversight—which likely earned him the NUPRC’s high integrity score—may have been exactly what made him a target for those resisting reform,” it said.
The report evaluated MDAs on Financial Management: Guidelines for funds and timely retirement of advances, and Procurement Processes: Adherence to the Public Procurement Act.
Other indices included internal audit: verification of payments and projects.
“By scoring 91.83, the NUPRC demonstrated that its financial pipes were not leaking; they were among the most secure in government.
“While 99 other MDAs lacked guidelines for funds and 114 failed to submit financial reports, Komolafe’s NUPRC stood apart as a model of fiscal responsibility.
“The allegations of a $20 billion diversion” have now been exposed for what they likely always were: a coordinated hit job designed to tarnish a reformer’s exit. But data does not lie.
“As Engr. Komolafe bows out; he does so not with the stain of scandal, but with a badge of honor provided by the ICPC itself.
“He leaves behind an agency that is officially rated as the most ethically compliant institution in Nigeria. The smear campaign has failed. The scoreboard speaks for itself,” it said.
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