* Vow to monitor their lifestyles
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), on Thursday, announced the commencement of rigorous and painstaking verification of assets declared by public office holders in Nigeria, warning that the days of “unexplained wealth” by public officers are over.
The Bureau made the declaration at a press conference on the subject matter of “Asset verification exercise: Our mandates! Our objectives!” addressed by its Chairman, Professor Mohammed Isah, at the National Press Centre in Abuja.
The event was coordinated by a Federal Commissioner and Chairman of the CCB Press Conference Committee, Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma.
In a riposte during the question-and-answer session, Professor Isah said public officers identified to be living above their means would henceforth be dragged through the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to explain the sources of their wealth.
He said the CCB would prefer charges against such officers, adding that the burden of proof would shift from the Bureau to the accused (public officers) to explain that they lawfully earned the money.
The CCB boss also said the principle of double jeopardy would not be available as an exception for public officers who breached the provisions of the Code of Conduct.
He explained that after their conviction by the CCT, other anti-graft agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) could still go ahead to charge them with money laundering and other offences.
Professor Isah said this time around, the Bureau would lead in the front by arraigning complicit public officers in order to avert a recurrence of the technicality that assisted a former Senate President (name withheld) to escape conviction by the CCT on the false asset declaration preferred against him.
According to him, only the CCB could prosecute, adding that EFCC went ahead to prosecute said individual instead of the Bureau and therefore lost on that technicality.
Professor Isah said the CCB is working to emplace a robust machinery for effective monitoring of public officers, pointing out that an independent monitoring unit is in the offing.
He specifically stated that the CCB would monitor the lifestyles of public officers and would share intelligence with sister agencies on the processes, procedures and findings of their exercise.
Professor Isah, in response to another question on what the Bureau was doing about current and past public officers named in the Pandora papers, said that the CCB was on top of it, disclosing that “yesterday (Wednesday, November 3), I received a progress report on our investigations so far into the scandal.”
He, however, did not make any further disclosures about the CCB’s finding in the preliminary report.
Recall that a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi; acting managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko; former Minister of Aviation and serving senator, Stella Oduah; Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Bagudu; Governor of Osun State, Gboyega Oyetola; and, Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, among others were named in the Pandora paper series.
Earlier in his press conference text, Professor Isah reiterated that Paragraph 3 (a) to (c) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the constitution provided that “the Bureau shall have power to (a) receive declarations by Public Officers made under paragraph 11 of part 1 of he Fifth Schedule to this constitution; (b) examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law; (c) retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen on such terms and conditions as the national Assembly may prescribe.”
According to him, “To be specific, examination (verification) of declarations made to the Bureau is part and parcel of assets declaration administration, without which, the assets declaration scheme stands incomplete.
“It is instructive to also draw the attention of the public and public officers, in particular, that the essence of the exercise goes to the root of ensuring that corrupt practices are stamped out of Nigeria’s public service.
“Thus, Paragraph 11(1) of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution provides: (11 (1) Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every public officer shall within three months after the coming into force of this Code of Conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter- (a) At the end of every four years; and (b) At the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of eighteen years.”
He continued: “This is also the provision of section 15 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. Further, paragraph 11 (2) provides: ‘Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.”
According to him: “This singular provision of the Constitution clears any doubt as to whether the Bureau has power to carry out verification exercise or not. The community reading of Paragraph 11 (1) and (2) will further expose the intedment of the makers of the Constitution to:
(a)Make the Code of Conduct Bureau the sole and only constitutional body with mandate to administer assets declaration to public officers:
(b)Make the verification of declarations to be part of the process of assets declaration with a view to establishing the veracity of the declaration made by a public officer;
(c) Ensure that the public officer making declarations does not make false declaration by either making under declaration or anticipatory declaration.
The CCB boss stated that the major objectives of verification of public officers’ assets declaration were to: (a) establish the truthfulness of assets declared with a view to ascertaining the existence, beneficial ownership and accuracy of items declared to the Bureau; (b) ensure effective prevention of accumulation of unexplained wealth; (c) detect conflict of interest; (d) track or trace illicit financial flow; (e) recover stolen assets/funds: and (f) expose anticipatory and/or false declarations, as the case may be.”
He said that in its efforts to discharge this mandate, the CCB, on November 18, 2020 inaugurated seven, but now nine committees to verify assets declaration of Federal Public officers in Abuja.
According to him: “The major tasks or burden placed on the shoulders of these committees are enormous and they are among others expected to:
!▪︎Scrutinize the completed Assets Declaration Forms (CADFs) of Public Officers including appointed and elected political office holders;
▪︎Carry out the due diligence by cross checking the declared assets with data domiciled in sister agencies. To this effect, the Bureau had earlier written all stakeholders in fight against corruption for support in collaboration and information sharing. We urged them to key into this laudable national assignment in fight against corruption:
▪︎Invite donor agencies and Civil Society Organizations to monitor the verification with a view to ensuring transparency in the exercise:
▪︎Invite declarants for conference verification, where necessary;
▪︎Proceed to field(s) for on-site inspection of assets declared; and,
▪︎Prepare and submit report to the Board for final consideration.
“In the light of the above, letters were sent to concerned Public Officers asking for information but the response is not, so far, encouraging. Instead, we have been receiving complaints from different quarters where some public officers believe the Bureau is merely targeting personalities.”
He assured Nigerians that the Bureau, as a constitutional body, would never allow itself to be used by any one against anybody or authority, stressing “we are merely discharging one of our constitutional mandates.”
“It is therefore necessarily important to, in as much as we allay the fears of public officers, emphasize that cooperation of public officer is mandatory, as nothing will stop the Bureau from getting all the information it needs for effective conduct of this verification exercise.”
He also reminded Nigerians that verification was one of the most, if not the most tedious exercise, adding that “it is capital intensive as it requires the process of collating all relevant documents from the concerned public officers and as our staff have to travel to all the nooks and crannies of our dear nation for site inspection, where necessary.
“Despite the above, and the fact that the Bureau is poorly funded considering our budgetary allocation, we are determined to go ahead with the process to ensure the success of the fight against corruption; and in so doing, our staff members will, as usual, maintain high level of integrity and commitment.”