President Bola Tinubu has given approval for a substantial rise in the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)’s budget, moving it from about N3 billion to almost N20 billion.
The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Dr Abubakar Bello, made this known during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.
Bello explained that the increase is aimed at revamping the country’s outdated asset declaration framework, while improving verification and enforcement to make the bureau more effective.
He noted that the expanded budget would support technological improvements, enhance the bureau’s work environment, reinforce verification procedures and boost enforcement capacity.
According to the CCB chairman, upon assuming office he discovered that asset declaration was still largely manual, depending on paper forms that were limited in supply, costly to print and difficult to store, analyse and verify.
He said public servants across ministries and agencies frequently demanded tens of thousands of forms that the bureau was unable to supply.
Bello added that the challenge was compounded by the fact that the 2025 budget provided only about N70 million for printing forms.
He explained that the amount could generate only about 50,000 to 60,000 forms for more than 4.5 million public servants nationwide.
To mitigate the problem, he said the bureau adopted a temporary approach inspired by Kenya, by uploading asset declaration forms on its website for public servants to download.
However, he stressed that while this improved access, it did not resolve the core problem of a manual system.
Bello disclosed that the bureau has now reached an advanced stage in developing a fully online asset declaration platform, after extensive engagement with stakeholders.
He said the system, expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026, would enable public servants to declare assets from anywhere in the world.
The CCB chairman described the digital platform as a “game changer”, noting that it would be directly integrated with major databases.
According to him, the platform will connect with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Bank Verification Number (BVN) system, land registries and other government records to allow instant verification.
He added that artificial intelligence would be deployed to analyse asset declarations and compare net worth at the beginning and end of a public servant’s tenure.
Bello said the AI system would flag unexplained wealth or potential breaches of the Code of Conduct for further scrutiny.
As part of ongoing reforms, he said the bureau has started inviting ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior officials for asset verification, emphasising that “verification is not investigation.”
He revealed that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, personally presented himself for asset verification, demonstrating leadership by example.
The CCB chairman noted that verification exercises had already resulted in interim forfeiture orders in cases where public servants failed to declare assets or could not justify their sources, including properties located within and outside Nigeria.
According to him, some recovered funds have already been remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He warned public servants that failure to declare assets or refusal to comply with verification invitations could lead to investigations and possible prosecution before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Bello urged adherence to the bureau’s guiding principle: “Declare or Forfeit.”