By George Ozalla
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has urged heads of universities and other tertiary institutions to strengthen internal controls, enforce transparency and address corruption risks in the management of interventions provided by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
The ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Adamu Aliyu, SAN, gave the charge on Monday in Abuja while declaring open a two-day Organisational Integrity Management Capacity-Building Programme for officials of TETFund beneficiary institutions.
The programme was organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria (ACAN), the training and research arm of ICPC, with support from TETFund.
Aliyu warned that increased funding alone would not guarantee improvements in the education sector without effective accountability, proper project supervision and prudent management of public resources.
He identified weak procurement practices, inadequate project supervision, ineffective internal controls, conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement as major corruption risks capable of undermining investments in tertiary education.
According to him, institutions benefiting from public funds must demonstrate transparency and accountability in the management of resources entrusted to them.
“Integrity must not exist merely in policy documents or institutional mission statements. It must be reflected in everyday decisions, administrative processes, and the management of public resources,” he said.
The ICPC chairman urged institutional leaders to lead by example through ethical conduct, strict enforcement of established procedures and provision of safe channels for reporting misconduct without fear of victimisation.
He also called for regular corruption risk assessments, improved documentation, separation of duties, independent verification of projects and stronger mechanisms for reporting and responding to misconduct.
Aliyu challenged participating institutions to develop specific integrity measures, assign responsibilities to designated officers, establish implementation timelines and introduce measurable indicators to monitor compliance.
He stressed that the effectiveness of the programme should be determined by the practical improvements introduced in the participating institutions rather than attendance or participation.
“The success of this initiative should be measured not merely by attendance or participation, but by the improvements introduced in your respective institutions,” he added.
Aliyu reaffirmed the commission’s commitment to preventing corruption in public institutions through System Study and Review, Corruption Risk Assessment, the Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecard and capacity-building initiatives implemented through ACAN.
Earlier, the Provost of ACAN, Professor Sheriff Ghali Ibrahim, said promoting integrity in tertiary institutions required the active involvement of management, academic and non-academic staff, as well as students.
He identified honesty, accountability and fairness as critical values for building public confidence and sustaining ethical standards in the education sector.
Ibrahim urged tertiary institutions to collaborate with ICPC in addressing administrative corruption, embezzlement, examination misconduct, monetisation of marks, sexual harassment and the use of ghost workers.
He commended TETFund for supporting the initiative, noting that institutional integrity was necessary to improve governance and protect investments in education.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Arc. Sonny Echono, represented by the Director of Human Resources and General Administration, Dr Kolapo Okunlola, said funding without accountable leadership and effective implementation would not produce the desired results.
Echono urged heads of beneficiary institutions to comply with procurement laws, financial regulations and TETFund guidelines while taking responsibility for the quality and outcomes of projects executed with intervention funds.
He also called on institutional authorities to protect whistleblowers and identify weaknesses in their administrative and financial systems.
The TETFund executive secretary stressed that the impact of the fund’s interventions should be measured not only by the amount of money released but also by improvements in educational infrastructure, research and learning outcomes.
