By Monsurat Abisoye
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has completed the verification of asset declarations submitted by 108 high-risk public officials, including ministers, permanent secretaries, and heads of government agencies, as part of efforts to strengthen accountability in public service.
CCB Chairman, Dr Abdullahi Bello, disclosed this on Thursday at the graduation ceremony of the second cohort of Agora Policy’s Policy Writing Fellowship and the unveiling of the Local Governance Accountability Portal and Policy Registry in Abuja.
According to Bello, those verified comprise 19 ministers, 37 permanent secretaries, 20 heads of agencies, and 32 other senior public officials.
He also announced that the bureau’s Online Asset and Liabilities Declaration System has been fully developed and is ready for deployment and testing. The platform will serve as a central database for asset declarations by public servants nationwide.
Bello said the bureau had intensified enforcement efforts, resulting in the forfeiture of several assets, including a property in London, while several cases have been referred to the Code of Conduct Tribunal. He added that the Chief of Staff to a state governor was recently arraigned before the tribunal, demonstrating the bureau’s commitment to holding public officers accountable regardless of their status.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, represented by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, described the Local Governance Accountability Portal as a major step towards improving transparency and accountability at the local government level.
Uwujaren noted that local government finances had long remained outside public scrutiny and said the platform would equip citizens with the information needed to monitor public spending and demand accountability.
Earlier, Agora Policy Executive Director, Waziri Adio, said the platform was created to address accountability gaps at the grassroots despite rising allocations to local governments. He, however, lamented that increased funding had yet to translate into better governance and service delivery at the local level.