CCB gives public officers 2-week ultimatum to declare assets

BY DAYO JOHNSON
AKURE — THE Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, has issued a two-week ultimatum to political office holders and top public officials who failed to appear before it during the verification exercise of their income and assets to do so or face the wrath of the law.

Head of the Bureau and Federal Commissioner of the agency for the South West, Dr Ademola Adebo issued the ultimatum in Akure, Ondo State capital.

Adebo who led members of the team on verification exercise of concerned officials in Ondo State last week, explained that the bureau  beamed its search light on the  incomes and assets of political office holders and public officials in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti states.

He noted that those officials who began and ended their tenure before May 29 due to court judgments as in Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States equally complied, noting that over 90 per cent of the officials had complied.

He advised commissioners and Special Advisers/Assistant, who had not appear to do so saying “failure to file and appear for particulars of declarations to be authenticated by the bureau amounts to disobedience to the constitution and violation of the statute of the Code of Conduct Bureau”.

Adebo said members of the team had finished the first leg of the exercise which was the authentication of the particulars submitted, would now move to the field for further investigation and physical confirmation of his claims.

According to him, “We embarked on this exercise not only to enforce compliance with the law, but to educate both political office holders and the general public about the serious dangers corruption poses to our nation. It is estimated that our economy is losing more than 25 per cent of Gross Domestic Product to  corruption annually. Due to all forms of corruption our roads remain death traps, educational and health infrastructures continue to decay.”

He called on Nigerians to work to expose and assist to combat corruption and advised the public to write verifiable petitions on the activities of the political office holders and public officials.