The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has received strong backing from the House of Representatives, which called for increased funding and official commendation for the anti-corruption agency. Lawmakers praised the Commission’s performance, noting that it recovered N33.16 billion and $1.8 million despite operating on a N2.8 billion budget.
The Commission’s spokesperson, J. Okor Odey, disclosed this in a statement issued on Saturday.
The lawmakers spoke on Friday when the ICPC defended its 2026 budget proposal before the House Committee on Anti-Corruption. Members of the committee described the agency’s funding as inadequate and questioned why an agency tasked with fighting corruption nationwide should be underfunded.
Rt. Hon. Kayode Akiolu commended the ICPC and its Chairman for maintaining international best practices in anti-corruption efforts. Hon. Abdulmaleek Abdulraheem, who represents Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency in Kogi State, highlighted the agency’s strong return on investment.
“You only got N2.8 billion last year, yet you were able to recover N33.16 billion and 1.8 million dollars, alongside numerous convictions,” Abdulraheem said. He added that agencies that generate such returns deserve better funding and urged the committee to ensure the ICPC’s 2026 allocation is not reduced below its 2025 figure.
Some lawmakers also suggested that the Commission be allowed to retain a percentage of the funds it recovers to support its operations, similar to other revenue-generating agencies.
Earlier, ICPC Chairman, Musa Adamu Aliyu, appealed to the National Assembly to improve the agency’s funding. He said poor release of approved funds in 2025 affected operations.
According to him, only N2.1 billion out of the N7.82 billion approved for overhead costs was released. For capital projects, just N400.49 million out of N7.3 billion was released, and this came late in November 2025.
Aliyu said the funding gap forced some lawyers and investigators to use personal funds for court appearances and investigations. Some projects could not be completed, and payments to service providers were delayed.
Despite the challenges, the ICPC filed 72 cases, secured 36 convictions, and is currently prosecuting about 400 cases across the country. The Commission also received 1,107 petitions, assigned 700 for investigation, and concluded 150 cases. Ethics and Integrity Compliance Scorecards were deployed in 344 Ministries, Departments and Agencies, while 131 Anti-Corruption and Transparency Units were inaugurated nationwide.
Aliyu expressed concern over proposed cuts to the agency’s 2026 budget, including reductions of N4.7 billion in overhead and N2.2 billion in capital expenditure. He warned that the cuts could further weaken the Commission’s operations.
He, however, assured lawmakers that the ICPC would continue to manage its resources prudently if given improved funding.
