Ethical Conduct and Staff Performance in Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Rivers State, Nigeria 2015-2025

For year concerns have been raised about unethical practices such as bribery, nepotism, misuse of public funds, absenteeism, and lax attitudes to work in local councils in Rivers State. This study examined the impact of ethical conduct on staff performance in Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, Rivers State from 2015 to 2025. The study evaluated code-of conduct compliance and administrative transparency and accountability. The study adopted a quantitative research design using primary and secondary data. The population comprised 1,886 council staff, from which 330 respondents were determined using Taro Yamane’s formula. Out of 330 structured questionnaire that were administered, 280 were retrieved and analysed, representing 84.8% retrieval rate. The instrument reliability recorded Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.74 to 0.85. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson Correlation in SPSS version 27. Findings showed low code-of-conduct compliance, with a grand mean of 2.12, while administrative transparency and accountability recorded 2.95 and had a significant positive relationship with service delivery and efficiency (r = 0.721, p = 0.000). Anti-corruption mechanisms and ethical oversight recorded 2.99 and significantly related positively to staff productivity and workplace discipline (r = 0.746, p = 0.000). Organizational and systemic challenges recorded 3.00 and had a significant negative relationship with ethical behaviour enforcement (r = -0.681, p = 0.000). The study concluded that effective ethical administration required stronger implementation, monitoring, accountability, sanctions, training, and administrative systems. The study recommended that local government authorities should develop a mechanism for the enforcement of ethical standards and institutional reforms to strengthen administrative performance, service delivery, and workplace outcomes.