The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has intensified its scrutiny of public officers, with Chairman Abdullahi Bello disclosing that the bureau has investigated and verified the assets of more than 20 ministers and 30 permanent secretaries. Bello made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday at an anti-corruption and asset-tracing stakeholders’ workshop organised by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda in collaboration with the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa.
For a system that has sometimes been associated with mountains of forms and paperwork, the latest declaration suggests that the CCB wants those forms to do more than decorate government filing cabinets. Bello said the bureau is now examining declarations, investigating suspected infractions and prosecuting offenders where breaches are established. In other words, declaring assets may no longer be the end of the story; it could be the beginning of several uncomfortable questions.
Code of Conduct Bureau Intensifies Asset Checks on Senior Officials
According to Bello, the Code of Conduct Bureau has moved beyond simply receiving declarations. The chairman said officials may be invited for face-to-face examination of their declarations and supporting records, while the bureau can compare what an officer declared at the beginning of a tenure with assets identified later. Unexplained changes, where evidence establishes a breach, can lead to further investigation and prosecution.
The disclosure is particularly significant because the CCB had already reported in June that it had verified declarations involving 19 ministers, 37 permanent secretaries, 20 heads of agencies and 32 other high-risk officials. The bureau also said at the time that its Online Asset and Liabilities Declaration System had been developed and was ready for deployment and testing. The latest figures therefore indicate that the verification drive has continued to expand or that the categories being examined have changed as the exercise progresses.
Code of Conduct Bureau Opens Fresh Asset Scrutiny of More Than 20 Ministers and 30 Permanent Secretaries
Bello also made it clear that the CCB does not necessarily have to wait until an official leaves office before taking action. According to his remarks, allegations or intelligence concerning a public officer can trigger an investigation while the officer remains in office. The bureau has also previously described asset verification as part of its wider effort to improve integrity and accountability in public service.
And that is where the satirical part of the story practically writes itself: for some public officers, the familiar question may no longer simply be, “Have you submitted your declaration?” but, “Can you explain what is inside it?” The CCB says its work includes investigation, prosecution and asset tracing, while stakeholders at the Abuja workshop called for stronger cooperation among government agencies, civil society and other institutions involved in recovering suspected illicit assets.
OGM News NG will continue watching how this verification exercise develops, particularly as the CCB moves from collecting declarations to actively examining them. Whether the process produces prosecutions, recoveries, clearer explanations or simply more questions remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the asset declaration form appears to have entered a new phase where what is written on paper may face a much closer reality check. Watch out for future updates from OGM News NG.
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