The Rural Electrification Agency has emerged top in the power sector in ICPC’s 2025 integrity ranking, marking significant governance gains.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has emerged tops within Nigeria’s power sector, as ranked by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in the recent Ethics and Integrity Compliance Ranking and Performance Outlook 2025.
The milestone, it was learnt, reflects not only the agency’s adherence to ethical standards, openness and transparency but also the strength of its governance structures, operational processes, and compliance culture in the last two years.
Also, the REA has been ranked among the top 15 Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) under the Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) Effectiveness Index (AEI), a key performance indicator assessing the efficiency of ACTU across public institutions.
A document seen by THISDAY showed that current ranking holds an even more significant relevance for the agency and the nation at large when compared to the last ICPC ranking circle, released by the commission in the year 2020.
That year, the REA was ranked 157 out of 220, placed at 31.4 per cent in overall performance, while the agency’s current overall performance ranking is 71.98 per cent, over 50 per cent improvement.
According to the ICPC, the design of the ranking embodies its preventive approach to combating corruption combining the focus of enforcement and building resilient systems that promote transparency, ethics, and compliance.
“It encourages MDAs to institutionalise integrity as a governance principle, thereby reducing opportunities for misconduct, misuse of public resources, and administrative inefficiencies. The 2025 EICS Report represents the commission’s ongoing effort to entrench integrity and good governance practices within public institutions.
“The tool provides a systematic framework for measuring ethical performance and identifying institutional weaknesses that require targeted reforms. The 2025 assessment cycle measures compliance across four key pillars indicators of management culture and structure, financial management systems, administrative systems and Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU), which collectively capture the critical dimensions of ethics and governance within the public service,” the anti-graft agency said.
It stated that 360 MDAs targeted out of which three MDAs were exempted, resulted in a total of 357 MDAs assessed, while 13 MDAs out of the total sum could not be assessed and were termed non-responsive.
Since his appointment two years ago, the REA’s Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, has championed a culture anchored on compliance, transparency, and performance-driven governance, consistently emphasising the need for every member of staff to align with established ethical frameworks and institutional standards.
As the implementing agency of the nation’s renewable energy and rural electrification interventions, the REA’s credibility and institutional integrity are critical to building and sustaining trust with local and international community, including development partners, investors, and energy access beneficiaries nationwide.
The goal of REA reflects a commitment to continuous improvement and an understanding that institutional excellence is an ongoing process, not a one-time achievement, validating the ongoing reforms within the agency.
