ICPC website ranked best of 220 ministry, agency portals

The website of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, www.icpc.gov.ng, has been adjudged the best in the federal government’s scorecard for ranking websites of 220 Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

The Director General of the Bureau for Public Service Reforms, Dr Dasuki Arabi, who made the public presentation of the 2021/2022 scorecard, noted that the primary objective of the scorecard ranking is to strengthen MDAs’ capacity for transparency, accountability and good governance by providing unrestricted access to public information.

The BPSR in collaboration with an Inter-Ministerial Task Team, whose members were drawn from key government agencies such as Galaxy Backbone, Federal Ministry of Justice, Nigeria Internet Registration Association, and National Information Technology Development Agency, revealed the findings of an exercise, that critically examined the MDAs’ websites in Nigeria.

In a statement acquired by our correspondent, the ICPC spokesperson, Mrs Azuka Ogugua noted that a jury comprising relevant government agencies, Civil Society Organisations, professional bodies, Non-Governmental Organisations, and multinational information technology firms, amongst others evaluated the websites based on 14 criteria with Key Performance Indicators, which include domain string, appearance and aesthetics, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and structure.

Ogugua said, “Others are responsiveness, security, load time, usability, uptime, architecture, availability, interactivity to the accessibility of the websites.

“ICPC ranked first amongst its peers, a big leap from the 2019/2020 report which ranked it 29th amongst 169 MDAs. This reflects the Commission’s commitment to continuous improvement as well as the need for constant positive reinvention and harnessing new media tools in the war against corruption in the country.”

The ranking exercise was carried out in line with the principles of Executive Order 01 on the Ease of Doing Business, Freedom of Information Act,2011, as well as the Standards and Guidelines for Government websites of the National Information Technology Development Agency, and the data generated from the exercise has contributed largely to Nigeria’s position in the global ranking of countries on E-Government Development Index survey of the United Nations.

In his remarks at the award ceremony, the DG of the BPSR, further stressed that the Scorecard was an imperative peer-review mechanism to prepare MDAs, which were the organs that government delivered the gains of democratic governance, for the challenges and opportunities ahead.

The scorecard ranking report charges MDAs to use their websites to provide safe and secure services, effectively communicate government policies, provide unrestricted access to public information, improve efficiency and ensure the fulfilment of their functions as organs of government service delivery.

(Punch)