CCB verifies asset declarations for 108 high‑risk public officials

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has finished verifying the asset declarations of 108 high‑risk public officials, which include ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of government agencies, as part of its effort to strengthen accountability in public service.

During the graduation ceremony of the second cohort of Agora Policy’s Policy Writing Fellowship and the unveiling of the Local Governance Accountability Portal and Policy Registry in Abuja, CCB Chairman Dr. Abdullahi Bello announced the completion of the verification exercise.

Bello said that the review covered 19 ministers, 37 permanent secretaries, 20 heads of agencies and 32 other senior public officials.

He also revealed that the bureau’s Online Asset and Liabilities Declaration System has been fully developed and is ready for deployment and testing.

The platform is intended to serve as a central database for the asset declarations of public servants nationwide.

Bello noted that the bureau has intensified enforcement, resulting in the forfeiture of several assets, including a property in London, and that several cases have been referred to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

He highlighted that the Chief of Staff to a state governor was recently arraigned before the tribunal, describing the action as evidence of the bureau’s commitment to holding public officers accountable regardless of status.

Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, represented by the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, described the portal as a game‑changer for promoting transparency and accountability at the local government level.

He noted that local government finances had long remained shielded from public scrutiny, adding that the portal would empower citizens with the information needed to track public spending and demand accountability.

Earlier, Agora Policy Executive Director Waziri Adio said the platform was created to address the accountability gap at the grassroots despite increasing allocations to local governments.

Adio lamented that increased funding had not translated into improved governance and service delivery at the local level.