The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has said that it has statutory powers to investigate assets declared by any sitting President and governors in Nigeria and will do so when the need arises.
The Bureau specifically made it clear that the assets declared by President Muhammadu Buhari and governors can be subjected to its investigation because they are not exempted from its mandate of ensuring that public servants are not allowed to live above their legitimate means.
A Federal Commissioner of the Bureau in- in-charge of Monitoring, Hon Ehiozuwa Johnson Agbonayema made this known to journalists during his team’s monitoring visit to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja.
Code of Conduct Tribunal is the law court where public servants found to be living above legitimate means or indicted for failure to declare assets as stipulated by law are put to trial.
Agbonayema, a former House of Representatives member warned public officers against failure to declare their assets in accordance with the relevant provisions of laws to avoid being caught up by the laws.
He praised President Buhari for giving the Bureau free hand to operate adding non interference from the Presidency has kept the body on its toe to execute its mandate within the ambit of the law.
The Bureau expressed its renewed commitment to end the endemic corruption among public officers especially those living above their legitimate means from ill-gotten wealth.
The CCB Commissioner however observed that the Code of conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal at present are being handcuffed by the lean financial resources available to them to carry out their constitutional duties but indicated their determination to deliver on mandates of riding Nigeria of corrupt officers.
He also affirmed that the mandate of CCB extends also to ensuring that the President, Governors and all political office holders without exception declare their assets and urged all Nigerian to join hand in the fight against corruption.
He said, “Failure to declare assets is against the law and there is nothing like I don’t know. Those that have not declared their assets are against the Constitution. By the 14th Code of the Conduct Bureau’s mandate all public officer are to declare their assets. ”
While restating that he was aware that while fighting corruption, corrupt on its own will fight back, he said the Bureau would not be deterred by such fears.