The Code of Conduct Bureau has explained that the Act that established it does not permit it to make public the assets declared by public officials. It however noted that officials could on their own make their forms public.
The explanation came as President Muhammadu Buhari; his deputy, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; and other public officials prepare to declare their assets preparatory to leaving office in compliance with the requirements of the law.
A senior official of the CCB, Veronica Kato, said in an interview that the bureau could only make such documents available by a court order in a case where a public official was under investigation or trial for alleged corruption relating to the acquired assets.
Kato noted that while journalists might want to have access to such information, it is beyond the CCB to make such information public due to the breach of the owner’s confidential details.
When asked how the citizens could assist the CCB when they do not know the assets listed in the forms, Kato said if any citizen felt a public official had acquired more than they had before getting into office “and the citizen can provide evidence to proof that such assets were acquired with illicit funds and through the abuse of their office, the citizen can write a petition to the CCB and we will investigate and compare what they declared with what they now have.”
