By Seun Ibiyemi
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) has opened its operations to a comprehensive system study and review by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), as part of efforts to strengthen accountability, transparency and institutional effectiveness.
The review followed an initiative by the REA to invite the anti-corruption commission to assess its operational systems and identify areas requiring improvement.
The development comes after the REA was ranked as the leader in Nigeria’s power sector in the 2025 Ethics and Integrity Compliance Ranking and Performance Outlook conducted by the ICPC.
Speaking during the ICPC’s visit to the REA headquarters, the agency’s Managing Director, Abba Aliyu, said the growing scale of REA’s programmes, partnerships and investments had increased the need for stronger internal accountability mechanisms.
Aliyu stressed that the agency must ensure its internal frameworks remain transparent, effective and fit for purpose as it expands its role in driving rural electrification programmes across the country.
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He also called for stronger collaboration between the ICPC and the agency’s Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) to further institutionalise accountability and integrity within the REA.
“Transparency is strongest when an organization is willing to open its systems to external scrutiny, identify operational gaps, and actively implement corrective measures,” Aliyu said.
The REA boss pledged that the collaboration with the ICPC and ACTU would go beyond a one-off assessment, describing it as a continuous framework for evaluating and strengthening the systems supporting the agency’s operations.
According to him, regular scrutiny and institutional improvements would help ensure that the programmes and investments entrusted to the REA deliver their intended outcomes.
The agency said the exercise would also provide an opportunity to identify operational gaps, strengthen existing controls and improve the effectiveness of systems supporting rural electrification across Nigeria.
The ICPC’s engagement with the REA is therefore expected to further deepen the agency’s compliance and integrity framework while reinforcing its commitment to transparent management of public programmes and investments.
