TheCable

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) says it achieved a significant milestone by securing a top spot in the 2023 ethics and integrity compliance scorecard (EICS) assessed by Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

In a statement on Tuesday, the commission said the ICPC conducted the compliance exercise among 50 regulatory agencies in Nigeria.

The ICPC’s EICS is an annual assessment tool designed to evaluate Nigeria’s ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) on their adherence to institutional ethics and integrity requirements.

According to the management, PenCom emerged in the 14th position out of the 404 MDAs on the comprehensive scorecard.

“Notably, PenCom achieved a commendable score, which was described by the ICPC as ‘substantial compliance’,” the statement reads.

“In recognition of this achievement, the ICPC conveyed its commendation to PenCom, acknowledging the organisation’s commitment to upholding ethics and integrity in its operations.”

The ICPC was also said to have particularly commended PenCom for its well-established structures and processes that promote efficiency while encouraging management to maintain high service delivery.

“The annual deployment of the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard by the ICPC aims to assess MDAs’ compliance with existing ethical, integrity, statutory, policy, and regulatory standards and practices,” the commission added.

“This initiative aligns with the Commission’s preventive mandate. The scorecard aims to minimise corruption risks, prevent system abuse, and revitalise ethics and integrity benchmarks in MDAs. The overarching objective is to ensure good service delivery while promoting a culture of ethical conduct within public service institutions.

PenCom, therefore, expressed commitment to sustaining the “well-acknowledged” transparency in regulating the Nigerian pension industry for the benefit of pension contributors and retirees.

This, PenCOm said, continues to manifest through a consistent increase in pension assets and other key performance indicators.