The
Code of Conduct Bureau has begun massive verification of assets declared by top
serving and former public officers at the federal, state and local government
levels.
A
statement by the Chairman of the CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, released by the Press and
Protocol Unit of the bureau on Thursday, stated that the exercise involved
physical appearance of the concerned public officers before the bureau for
conference and field verifications of their declared assets.
Conference
verification requires public officers to present documents relating to their
declared assets to designated officials of the bureau.
On
the other hand, field verification involves public officers taking CCB
officials to locations of their declared landed, fixed and other assets that
could not be conveniently moved to the bureau’s office.
He
stated that by virtue of Paragraph 11 of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the
1999 Constitution (as amended), “every public officer is required to submit to
the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all properties, assets and
liabilities and those of his/her spouse (if not a public officer) and his
unmarried children under the age of 18 years.”
He
added that any statement in the declaration, found to be false by any
authorities or persons authorised to verify it, “shall be deemed to be a breach
of the code”.
He
stated, “To this end, the Bureau has commenced its 2016 4th Quarter Cycle of
Conference and Field Verification of Assets of top public officers.
Accordingly, letters of invitation have been dispatched to ministers of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, service chiefs and other top public officers.
“All
invited public officers are to note that failure to honour the invitation by
the CCB in this regard is a breach of the provisions of the constitution and
could lead to prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“Public
officers not yet invited are to await their letters of invitation.”
He
listed 76 public officers that had been invited by the bureau with a threat of
the possibility of prosecution if they fail to honour the invitation.
Among
the 76 invitees are 30 ministers whom, according to the bureau, have yet to
submit themselves to the exercise.
According
to the bureau, ministers who have yet to submit themselves for the verification
are Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation); Babatunde Fashola (Power, Works and
Housing); Ibe Kachikwu (Petroleum Resources (State); Abubakar Malami
(Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice); Adebayo Shittu
(Communications); Dr. Kayode Fayemi (Solid Minerals and Steel Development);
Audu Ogbeh (Agriculture and Rural Development).
Others
include Senator Aisha Alhassan (Women Affairs and Social Development); Solomon
Dalung (Youths & Sports Development); Osagie Ehanire (Health (State));
Usani Usani (Niger Delta Affairs); Prof. Anthony Anwukah (Education (State));
Lai Mohammed (Information and Culture), and Gen. Ali Mansur (retd.) (Defence).
The
list also includes Senator Udo Udoma (Budget and National Planning); Ibrahim
Jibril (Environment (State)); Suleiman Adamu (Water Resources and Rural
Development); Mustapha Shehuri (Power (State)); Prof. Claudius Daramola (Niger
Delta Affairs (State)) and Kemi Adeosun (Finance) as those who have not
submitted themselves to verification.
The
rest are Prof. Isaac Adewole (Health); Okechukwu Enelamah (Trade, Investment
and Industry); Geoffrey Onyema (Foreign Affairs ); Muhammadu Bello (Federal
Capital Territory); Senator Hadi Sirika (Aviation (State)); Hajiya Khadija
Bukar (Foreign Affairs(State)); Senator Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment);
Heineken Lokpobiri (Agriculture and Rural Development (State)); Dr.
Ogbonnaya Onu (Science and Technology); and Abubakar Bwari (Solid Minerals
(State) ).
The
rest of the public officers still expected to submit themselves to the bureau
are the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Head of Service of
the Federation, Mrs. Oyo-Ita Ekanem; Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi
Olanishakin; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Abubakar Sadique; and the
Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibas Ibok.
Also
on the list are the immediate past Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon
Arase; Chairman, Police Service Commission, Chief Mike Okiro;
Controller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Babatunde Mohammed;
Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative,
Waziri Adio; Director-General of National Pension Commission, Mrs. Chinelo
Amazu; and Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer, Export Promotion
Council, Mr. Olusegun Awolowo.
Also
yet to turn up for the CCB verification are the Director-General, National
Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Sule Kazaure; Executive Secretary, Nigeria
Sao-Tome & Principle Joint Development Authority, Kashim Tumash; Group
Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru;
Controller-General of Federal Fire Service, Anebi Garba; Director-General,
Budget and National Planning, Mr. Ben Akabueze, and Managing Director, Nigeria
Deposit Insurance Commission, Ibrahim Umaru.
Others
include the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof.
Abubakar Adamu; Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mrs. Hadiza Usman;
Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Ahmed Kuru, and
Controller-General of MSCDS, Muhammad Abdullahi.
The
Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, who are on the list, are Ntom Chukwu,
Folusho Adebanjo, Emmanuel Inyang, Maigari Dikko, Joshak Habila, Shuaibu Gambo,
and Hyacinth Dagala.
An
Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Abdul Bube, is also on the list.
Military
officers, whose names appear on the list, are Real Admiral Joseph Osa
(Commandant, Operation Delta Safe) and Major General M. A. Koleoso (GOC
Tradoc).
The
CCB also listed a number of Federal Commissioners of the Civil Service
Commission and three Group Executive Directors of the NNPC, who are yet to
submit themselves to the CCB’s verification.
In
the statement, the CCB stated that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur
Buratai, and five other ministers, among 15 other former and serving public
officers, had submitted themselves to the asset verification.
Buratai
recently became the target of scathing public scrutiny when reports of his
choice $1.5m properties, which he claimed were acquired in the name of his wife
in Dubai, hit the public space.
Saba,
confirmed to our correspondent on the telephone that all the 15 persons, whose
assets had been verified, had been issued a certificate of Conference
Verification/Field Verification.
“The
Chief of Army Staff was the first to be issued his certificate. We started
issuing to others last week,” he said.
Responding
to further inquiry about whether the certificate issued by the CCB implied that
the cleared public officers were free from liability of criminal prosecution,
Saba stated, “Even though the tribunal (Code of Conduct Tribunal) is the
institution with the power of adjudication in asset declaration breaches, the
certificate means that from our own end, we are satisfied with the verification
that we have done.”
The
five cleared ministers are Abdulrahman Dambazau (Interior); Zainab Shamsuna
(Budget & National Planning); Adamu Adamu (Education); Aisha Abubakar
(Minister of Trade, Investment & Industry (State)); and Amina Mohammed
(Minister of Environment).
The
rest of the former and serving public officers already cleared by the CCB are
the immediate past Secretary of the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim;
Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood; a
former Executive Secretary of the NUC, Prof. Julius Okojie, and a former Controller-General,
Nigerian Prisons Service, Ezenwa Peter.
They
also include the Acting MD/CEO, Niger Delta Development Commission, Semenitari
Tamunoibim; Controller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Col. Ibrahim Ali
(retd.); Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris; Corps Marshal, Federal
Road Safety Corps, Boboye Oyeyemi; and Federal Commissioner, Civil Service
Commission, Hope Ikrirko.
The
CCB boss commended those that had turned up for the exercise.
Source:The Punch
Tags
Politics