No more hiding place for corrupt public officers as CCB strengthens monitoring division, names Agbonayinma as head

In a bid to rejig its administrative infrastructure to meet up with one of its constitutional mandates of monitoring the assets and life style of public officers to expose corruption, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has given fillip to its monitoring division by appointing a federal commissioner, Hon. E.J. Agbonayinma to head and drive it.

THE CONCLAVE reports that the Chairman of CCB, Professor Mohammed Isah saddled Hon. Agbonayinma (representing the South-South zone in the CCB) with the onerous task consequent upon the resolution by the CCB Board to strengthen the processes of realizing the Bureau’s monitoring mandate in the anti-graft crusade.

The categories of public officers whose assets, both declared and undeclared as well as life style side by side their incomes, will be monitored by the CCB are public officers nationwide as outlined in the fifth schedule, part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), retired public officers as listed in the Bureau’s Code number 4, certain public officers who had occupied some key positions as provided for in Code 5 (a) and (b), Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Federal, State and Local Governments, and all  organisations in which government has an interest.

Specifically, part 1 of the fifth schedule lists some codes for which a violation would amount to corruption to include conflict of interest, prohibition of foreign accounts, abuse of power, prohibition against membership of societies, allegation of breach of Code, prohibition against accepting any gifts or benefits in kind and restrictions on specified officers.

Advertisement

For instance, with regard to restrictions on specified officers, the Code provides inter alia: “Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing paragraph,  a public officer  shall not (a) receive or be paid emoluments of any public office at the same time as he receives or is paid the emoluments  of any other public office or (b) except when he is not employed on full time basis, engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade but nothing  in this sub-paragraph shall prevent a public officer from engaging in farming.”

The Bureau’s Code 4 on prohibition of retired public officers from accepting more  than one remunerative position states: “A public officer shall not, after his retirement from public service and while receiving pension from public funds, accept more than one remunerative position as chairman, director or employee of a company owned or controlled by the government or public authority or receive any other  remuneration from public funds in addition to his pension and the emolument of such one remunerative position.”

Prohibition of certain retired public officers from employment in foreign enterprises in Code 5 (a and b) provides: “(a) Retired public officers who have held offices to which the paragraph applies are prohibited from service or employment in foreign companies or foreign enterprises; (b) The paragraph applies to the office of the President, Vice-president, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Governor and Deputy Governor of a State.”

THE CONCLAVE reports that the monitoring division of the CCB is critical to the realization of the Bureau’s anti-corruption crusade and it covers an expansive scope of functions and responsibilities that conduce to the institutionalization of honesty, transparency and accountability in government by public officers both serving and retired.

Some of the functions of the Monitoring Division of the CCB, as gleaned by THE CONCLAVE, in the Bureau’s code of conduct for public officers include, among others:
▪︎Monitoring of budget allocations, budget releases, Social Investment programmes, judicious implementation of ad-hoc jobs at the Federal, State and local Government as well as Military and Paramilitary Organizations to ensure fairness and compliance with the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
▪︎Surveillance activities with a view to detecting breaches and infractions in the course of budget implementation in various sectors of governance across the country as well as strict monitoring and detection of unexplained wealth with individuals which in the course of investigations may be linked to Public Officers
▪︎Monitoring of negative social trends that impede morality and accountability in the conduct of government business which apparently breed corruption and abuse of office.
▪︎Zonal and State Monitoring of Police, Military and other Law Enforcement check points nationwide with a view to detecting breach of the right of citizens and their fundamental rights.
▪︎To compile and regularly update a list of all MDAs nationwide, showing their
mandates, operational structures, goals, staff strengths and locations.
▪︎To use the data generated to develop a database that will not only serve as a reference and resource center for CCB but also to be made available on request, based on agreed terms, to other agencies especially those in the Anti-corruption Working Group.
▪︎To promote the use of Code of Conduct as a guide in developing Institution-specific Code of Conduct by the MDAs.
▪︎To use professionally developed templates to evaluate MDAs on their performance with regard to the 1st part of CCB mandate, which states- “To establish and maintain a high standard of morality in the conduct of Government business.”
▪︎To champion the timely auditing and submission of annual returns by MDAS, with a view to promoting honesty, accountability and transparency. CCB should make it big issue by making it mandatory for agencies to submit their annual reports to the National Assembly or submit the reports concurrently to CCB and the National Assembly; and
▪︎Calling on all patriotic Nigerians to support the WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION in our mission to eradicate corrupt practices and ensure compliance with the Code of Conduct for public officers.