ICPC To CCB: Publish Assets Of Public Servants To Make Our Work Easy

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) has asked the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to
publish the assets declared by public and civil servants.

According to the commission, the step would help to curb
corruption in the public sector.

Bolaji Owasanoye, ICPC chairman, was quoted as saying the
secrecy that surrounds asset declarations was aiding
corruption.

“Publicising asset declaration will assist the whistle-blowing
policy and our work,” he said in a statement released on Thursday
by Azuka Ogugua, the commission’s spokesperson.

“We have not been able to take full advantage of asset
declaration because of the opacity around it. If somebody lied
about his or her assets, he or she can be found out by just the
opening of the page where it has been published.

“I want to encourage the Bureau to push for that because the
public will help us to do our work. They will tell us who owns what
assets and whether it is proportionate to their earnings.”

The ICPC chairman also noted that “the opacity surrounding asset
declarations had added to the problem of insecurity and
underdevelopment facing the nation”.

Owasanoye encouraged the CCB to review and revise the assets
declaration form to include data that could help to track
information such as the bank verification number (BVN) and new
forms of investments such as cryptocurrency.

Furthermore, he advised the bureau to digitalise the process of
asset declaration, adding that “it would help in the easy tracing
and analysis of assets as well as enable CCB to furnish government
with information on the lifestyles of both public and civil
servants”.

“If you digitize asset declaration, it will help you to reach
everybody under your cover. It is easily analytical and helps you
to know what asset the public servant owes. It will enable you to
inform the government about the status of public servants, whether
they are doing badly or not,” he added.

Owasanoye “expressed the hope that CCB would be active in assets
recovery as an enforcement measure, stating that public servants
who lived beyond their legitimate income should have the illegally
acquired assets taken away from them”.

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission (ICPC) has asked the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to
publish the assets declared by public and civil servants.

According to the commission, the step would help to curb
corruption in the public sector.

Bolaji Owasanoye, ICPC chairman, was quoted as saying the
secrecy that surrounds asset declarations was aiding
corruption.

“Publicising asset declaration will assist the whistle-blowing
policy and our work,” he said in a statement released on Thursday
by Azuka Ogugua, the commission’s spokesperson.

“We have not been able to take full advantage of asset
declaration because of the opacity around it. If somebody lied
about his or her assets, he or she can be found out by just the
opening of the page where it has been published.

“I want to encourage the Bureau to push for that because the
public will help us to do our work. They will tell us who owns what
assets and whether it is proportionate to their earnings.”

The ICPC chairman also noted that “the opacity surrounding asset
declarations had added to the problem of insecurity and
underdevelopment facing the nation”.

Owasanoye encouraged the CCB to review and revise the assets
declaration form to include data that could help to track
information such as the bank verification number (BVN) and new
forms of investments such as cryptocurrency.

Furthermore, he advised the bureau to digitalise the process of
asset declaration, adding that “it would help in the easy tracing
and analysis of assets as well as enable CCB to furnish government
with information on the lifestyles of both public and civil
servants”.

“If you digitize asset declaration, it will help you to reach
everybody under your cover. It is easily analytical and helps you
to know what asset the public servant owes. It will enable you to
inform the government about the status of public servants, whether
they are doing badly or not,” he added.

Owasanoye “expressed the hope that CCB would be active in assets
recovery as an enforcement measure, stating that public servants
who lived beyond their legitimate income should have the illegally
acquired assets taken away from them”.