Question:
Will service to a
serving Governor not amount to a process?
Ans:
Yes. Serving Governors are excused from prosecution until expiration
of their tenure, due to the immunity clause under section 308 of the
1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Question:
Where is the
demarcation of under declaration?
Ans:
In a case where Assets declared are below the number or volume of
Assets acquired by declarant.
Question:
What happens when a
public officer who already has a foreign account, is being elected
into office? What happens to his foreign account?
Ans:
Such officers are expected to close their accounts and forward
evidence of closure to the Bureau.
Question:
Is separating anti corruption
agencies, not a waste of resources and duplication of function?
Ans:
It is not a waste of resources, this is because each of the anti
corruption agencies operate within boundaries of constitutional
specification of duties.
EFCC –
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
ICPC –
Corruption misappropriation within private and public sector.
CCB – Breach
of the Code of Conduct, such as Conflict of Interest, Abuse of
office, Assets Administration and Verification and corruption within
public sector only.
Question: Immunity clause
does not cover a serving Governor. Can the CCB tell us how they have
tested this point of Law?
Ans:
The Immunity clause covers a serving Governor irrespective of the
powers of the Bureau. This has been confirmed by a high court
ruling.
COMMENTS
BY PARTICIPANTS AT THE WORKSHOP.
The
issue of corruption is not that we lack relevant laws, ethics, or
religion, but the problem is the people themselves. However, there
are obnoxious laws such as S. 308. Awareness for it has to created e.g
NGO’s and Whistle blowers. – Bello Moh’d. Minority leader Sokoto
State.
Resp:
The CCB has an aggressive enlightenment machinery and strategy in
place, to address the issue of value orientation in the public
service and constitutional implements arising from section 308 of
the constitution.
Technocrats
such as the resource person, is detached from reality (electorate).
Any changes in the life of a legislator will invoke questions from
the electorate. This implies that people will listen more to
technocrats. Hon Gbenga Agunbiade. Ondo State Minority Leader.
Resp:
It is not true. Corporate show of integrity by legislators
especially in their oversight functions will win the people on their
side and guarantee support during elections.
The job of
CCB should be extended to the private sector with a view to checking
those who are not operating according to laid down rules. Major
leader, Imo State.
Resp:
The mandate of CCB cannot be extended to private sector except there
is a constitutional amendment to empower the Bureau.
Question
What is the
offence in gift offering? Is it the giver or the receiver?
Response
Most gift that
are given to public officer relates to conflict of
interest. Is the gift for a job well done or a job that will
be done, in all receiving gift amount to abuse of office.
Question
What can be done to
educate local government officials?
Response
Continuous
enlightenment on the code and other ant- Corruption laws in the
country.
Question
For some workers who
are squatters, what household items will they declare?
Response
They should declare
what they have.
Question
Why must a Public
Servant be compelled to declare his asset, while the private man
does not declare his assets?
Response
The constitution
states only Public Servants should declared their assets because
they are the one that have access to public fund.
Question
Can newly employed
staff declare their assets immediately they are employed or wait for
years?
Response
Yes, Immediately they
are employed and every four yeas thereafter.
Question
Is it possible to add
the cost of the entire household items and declare?
Response
No, declare each
separately.
Question
Why should a public
officer be allowed by the constitution to engage in farming and not
petty trading?
Response
That is what the law
says.
Question
What do you do with your
foreign account when appointed?
Response
Close it.
Question
Can a valuer be
contacted to value assets like buildings vacant lands for those who
do not know the value of their assets?
Response
Yes
Question
What does
the Code of Conduct Bureau do?
Response
It is the
mandate of the Bureau to ensure that Public Officers conduct
themselves well in the performance of their official duties through
the enforcement of the Code of Conduct for public officers. It
monitors officers to ensure that they live within legitimate means
through periodic declaration of their assets. The Bureau also
enlightens public officers on this, and members of the public on the
need to report anyone who breaches the Code of Conduct.
Question
What is
the difference between the Bureau and other Anti-Corruption
Agencies?
Response:
All the
bodies were set up with a broad goal to fight corruption, but each
has a specific mandate to address. The Bureau fights corruption in
the public Service, and it does so through the instrument of assets
declaration and the Code of Conduct for public officers which it is
empowered to enforce. It even has a special Court to facilitate the
prosecution of offenders.
Question
Has there
been conviction for breach of the code of conduct for public
officers?
Response
Yes, as
shown by figures supplied by the Bureau. It must be observed that
for CCB to investigate anyone let alone prosecute, the public has a
role to play. They must send their complaints, which must be based
on facts and figures to the Bureau.
Question
Has the
Bureau any role to play in giving clearance to people aspiring to
public office either through election or appointment?
Response
The
Bureau has no jurisdiction over any one before they join public
office. So there is no way it could clear prospective candidates for
public office.
Question
Has the
Bureau power to investigate allegations of corruption by the public?
Response
Yes,
breaches of the CCB Law are clear cases of corruption – conflict of
interest, abuse of office and failure to declare assets can be
investigated and prosecuted by the Bureau.
Question
Does the
Bureau release assets declaration forms of public officers to
members of the public?
Response
The Law
states that the forms can only be released on terms and conditions
prescribed by the National Assembly. The National Assembly is yet to
prescribe such conditions. However, an independent bill on public
access to assets declaration is receiving attention at the Senate.
Question
Does
the Bureau believe that convicts who get away with light sentences
from the Code of Conduct Tribunal can deter others from corruption?
Response
The
Sentences include fines, removal from office, ban from holding
public office for 10 years and confiscation of assets. The mere
fact of conviction makes one a convict, and that is bad enough, and
detrimental to the person’s future career or ambition in public
office.
Question
How does
the Bureau know whether declarations of assets of public officers
are true or false?
Response
The
Bureau verifies such claims as a matter of routine.
Question
What is
the essence of asking public officers on very low grades to declare
their assets?
Response
The issue
of good conduct is not a matter of status. The Law does not
discriminate between Senior and Junior Civil Servants. Corrupt
Junior Officers if unchecked end up as corrupt senior officers, with
the scope of their corrupt practice increasing to a level that may
be difficult to detect or control.
Question
How does
the declaration of assets by public officers prevent corruption?
Response
Asking
public officers to declare their assets puts them under the search
light. This periodic assessment through verification and monitoring
gives Bureau the opportunity to assess and check acquisitions of
public officers. This is because Corruptly acquired wealth
manifests in the acquisition of assets.
Question
What is
the role of the General Public to the success of the mandate of the
Bureau?
Response
Members
of the public should know that public office is a public trust, and
public officers are trustees. They should therefore insist on public
officers doing the right thing, and where they observe breaches,
should report to the Bureau.
Question
What
advice do you have for public officers?
Response
Public
Officers should know that they owe the public excellent service at
all times. They must abide by rules and regulations governing their
conduct in public service. They must declare their assets as
stipulated by Law.
Question
Does the
Bureau guarantee the protection of whistleblowers?
Response
For every
petitioner, the Bureau guarantees absolute confidentiality, and
enjoin the public to make complaints on verifiable facts and
figures.
Question
Why is it
that the Bureau only concentrates on the small fish while the big
fishes are left to their own devices?
Responses
Every
fish is a fish, big or small, eventually, every small fish becomes
big. So it is better to catch a fish when it is small, rather than
allowing it to grow to a big fish.
The
Bureau has actually prosecuted the so called “big fishes” like
Governors, Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen of Local
Governments and other highly placed political office holders.
Question
Does an
individual have the locus standi to institute an action for
the breach of any provisions of the Code of Conduct for public
officers?
Response
An
individual does not have the locus standi to institute an action in
court for the breach of the provisions of the Code of Conduct for
public officers. The only body that has the power to institute an
action against a public officer for the breach of the provisions of
the Code of conduct for public officers is the Code of Conduct
Bureau. This provision can be found in paragraph 12 to the fifth
schedule to the 1999 Constitution and also Section 3 (a) Cap C15 LFN
2004.
Question
Can a
Public officer own a Private Business?
Response
There is
nothing in our laws restricting a public officer from owning or
acquiring interest in private business. However, a public officer is
prohibited from the Management or running of any private business,
profession or trade. These are the wordings of paragraph 2 (b) to
the fifth schedule of the 1999 Constitution and Section 6 (b) Cap
C15 LFN 2004.
Question
Why does
the Bureau try its cases at the Tribunal and not the normal Courts?
Response
The High
Court does not have the jurisdiction to entertain any mater
pertaining to the breach of the provision of the Code of Conduct for
public officers at first instance or on appeal. The constitutional
body that can hear allegations of any breach of the provision of the
code of conduct for public officers is the Code of Conduct Tribunal
and any appeal of the Tribunal’s decision by any party is made to
the Court of Appeal and not the High Court or federal High Court.
The Supreme Court had made a pronouncement on this matter.
Question
You are charged with the
responsibility of maintaining high morality in Public Offices. With
the present situation of Nigeria today do you think the crusade is
yielding fruit?
Response
The Bureau was set up to
establish and maintain a high standard of morality in the conduct of
Government business and to ensure that the actions and behaviour of
public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality
and accountability. This is achieved by arraigning those in breach
of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers as enshrined in the 5th
schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as well as through enlightening
of public officers on the Code. The Enlightenment Programme also
target the general public who are sensitized on the need to insist
on accountability by reporting any breach of the Code by a Public
Officer to the Bureau. In the last five years, over three thousand
(3000) public officers have been convicted, while thousands more
have been enlightened through seminars, visitations and the mass
media. The anti-corruption consciousness in Nigerians today is a
reflection of these efforts and which are reinforced by other
anti-corruption agencies/initiatives of government.
Question
It is
expected that every officer shall within 3 months aftertaking office
submit to the Code of Conduct a written declaration of properties;
assets and liabilities. How compliantare Nigerians in this regard?
Response
Public officers
compliance with the assets declaration is above average. (See
statistics and percentage of non-compliance between 2000 – 2004,
attached).
Question
Liberia, a sister
country to Nigeria, which is just coming out of war, has all the
assets declared by all the contenders of the Presidency with Ellen
Johnson on their web-site. Is that not a challenge to Nigeria and
the Code of Conduct Bureau, which is supposed to keep all those
information for interested Nigerians to know?
Response
Section 3(c) Part 1 of
the fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution gives the Bureau the
power to retain custody of all declaration by Public Officers and
make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on
such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
Those conditions are yet
to be prescribed. Meanwhile, the Press can join the Bureau in
advocating for the prescription of the conditions for public access
to assets declaration of all Public Officers, or certain categories
of public officers as is the case with the categorization for
non-operation of Foreign Accounts.
Question
What are the yardsticks
put in place by the Code of Conduct Bureau to checkmate the rampant
cases of highly placed persons operating foreign accounts.
Response
The yardstick is to
investigation of complaints on breaches of the Code, including
operation of Foreign Accounts by those prohibited from doing so by
concerned citizens. A public officer who is seen to be in breach of
the code is expected to be reported to the Bureau. That report will
be investigated and where necessary be submitted to the Code of
Conduct Tribunal for prosecution. This places a responsibility on
the public including the Press to report cases that are based on
facts and figures so that the evidence before the Court will have
the required integrity to withstand the stress of prosecution.
Question
Owning houses abroad is
what Nigerians are after today. Does that mean it is not a breach
of the code or the Code of Conduct Bureau is not aware of the
ongoing game?
Response
It is not illegal for
public officers to own property whether at home or abroad, what is
illegal is to own property with the proceeds of corruption.
The Bureau carries out
verification of all claims made by the Public Officers in their
assets declaration where any asset cannot be justified based on the
facts before it, such cases are sent to the Tribunal.
Question
What relationship has
the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal?
Response
The Code of Conduct
Bureau issues Asset Declaration forms, verifies assets mentioned
therein, investigates breaches of the Code and enlightens officers
on the Code. The Tribunal is the Court that tries cases of breaches
of the Code, sent in by the Bureau.
Question
What are the
achievements recorded so far?
Response
As the statistics show,
many public officers are aware of their responsibility regarding
Assets Declaration. The drop in the percentage of non-compliance is
a proof of this. Apart from the awareness level which is raised
significantly, the cases tried and the convictions made is a
deterrence to breaches of the Code by Public Officers.
Additionally, the Bureau
has enhanced its operations by establishing a Bureau Information
System (BIS) to manage the massive data generated from Assets
Declarations, as well as a Petitions Screening Committee to handle
all cases before it with the highest level of professionalism
Question
What are your greatest
challenges?
Response
Our greatest challenge
is the perception and attitude of members of the public including
the media on the fight against corruption.
They perceive corruption
as a solid mass in one hole which must be smashed to destroy in a
quick fix manner – before an anti-corruption effort is rated as
successful. We forget that corruption is pervasive and manifest in
many ways e.g. as grand corruption, petty corruption, passive
corruption, active corruption, bribery, nepotism, extortion, abuse
of discretion, fraud, embezzlement, theft, etc. and this requires a
holistic approach.
This explains why many
agencies and Institutional arrangements are in place to deal with
different aspects, approaching it form different perspectives with
each reinforcing each other’s mandate so that with the support or
co-operation of the public, we will progress to a point or standard
that is acceptable to us as a people.
Legally, the
Constitutional provision on public access to declarations, and the
immunity clause poses a challenge to the effective implementation of
the Bureau’s mandate.
Question
Area Councils are houses
of money laundering. What role has the Code of Conduct played in
ensuring sanity in the Area Councils?
Response
The Bureau does not have
any basis to join issues with anyone declaring Area Councils as
houses of many laundering. There are levels of governance that
targets development at the grass root level.
The role of the Bureau
in ensuring rectitude cuts across all levels of governance, Federal,
State and Local Governments/Area Councils.
Our experience in the
Bureau, going by the number of petitions that emanate from Local (govts.)
Area Councils show that the people at the grass root level, are
close enough to monitor performance at that level and to make
complaints where necessary. It must however be noted that the
public who are to be served are also part of the problem. Our
investigations show that why t he Bureau cannot progress with some
of those cases is because of the frivolity and the level of vendetta
displayed by some petitioners, who in most cases are faceless. This
makes investigation not only difficult but costly and wasteful,
requiring caution from the Bureau.
