Public officials must declare assets or face consequences – CCB chair, Bello
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has warned civil servants and other public officials against failure to declare their assets as enshrined in the nation’s laws or face the consequences. The CCB Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Usman Bello, gave the warning on Tuesday in Abuja, when he led a delegation of the management team of the […]
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has warned civil servants and other public officials against failure to declare their assets as enshrined in the nation’s laws or face the consequences.
The CCB Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Usman Bello, gave the warning on Tuesday in Abuja, when he led a delegation of the management team of the bureau on a working visit to the corporate headquarters of the Media Trust Group (MTG), publishers of the Daily Trust, Weekend Trust, Aminiya, Trust Radio and other titles.
He also said that there is no conflict in the working of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), in relation with the workings and mandates of the CCB.
“True, and while we have the opportunity of sourcing information through state-level volunteers, there are certain things our organisation must do itself. We don’t have the capacity to cover every corner of the civil and public service. Saying otherwise would be dishonest. What we’ve done instead is adopt a risk-based approach for verification and investigations.
- Senate considers bill to convert YABATECH to varsity, 2 others
- Alleged misappropriation: Court dismisses Ganduje, others’ application challenging jurisdiction
“For instance, if we identify 1,000 high-risk public servants, and recover N1 billion from each, that’s N1 trillion recovered. So now our target is to focus on 10,000 high-risk individuals -those in revenue-generating agencies and top public offices,” Bello said.
Asked on the approach to these different risk levels, the CCB boss said the organisation has three strategies comprising, high-risk individuals, to be taken on prosecution and investigation; medium-risk individuals, being dealt with on investigation; and low-risk staff, who are taken on education and prevention.
“So, for low-level workers, we focus on sensitisation: Declare your assets. Don’t engage in wrongdoing. CCB is, first and foremost, a preventive organisation. If you know your assets will be verified upon entry and exit from office -gifts, loans, properties- you’ll think twice before engaging in corruption,” Bello said.
sked if the CCB’s was not overlapping with that of the EFCC or ICPC, including on jurisdictional conflicts, he said there was no conflicts, but collaboration.
He said, “There is no conflict. For instance, the EFCC might charge someone for fraud or money laundering, but we look at breaches of the Code of Conduct -such as unlawful enrichment, failure to declare assets properly, or receiving inappropriate gifts.
“Let me give you an example: a public servant once had $9.8 million found in his residence. For the EFCC or ICPC, they must prove it was stolen. For us, we simply ask: where did you get the money? If it was a gift, who gave it and under what terms? If it’s a loan, was it declared appropriately?
“The Code is very clear. The burden of proof lies on the public officer to justify the asset, not on us to prove a crime.”
The CCB boss also said that the organisation’s digital asset declaration platform is ready and would soon be launched nationwide.