As part of reforms at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Federal Government has said that the Bureau would soon deploy an Online Assets Declaration Portal that would allow for enhanced storage and retrieval of data.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who made this known at a media briefing in Abuja, said the online portal would reduce delays caused by incomplete and incorrect declarations and reduce errors, among others.
He disclosed that the CCB in 2021, issued 125,000 Assets Declaration Forms, out of which 97,201 forms were returned.
Mohammed said the figures represented a 48 per cent increase in the number of Assets Declaration forms issued and an 81 per cent increase in submission compliance, when compared with the previous year.
The minister also disclosed that in 2021, the Bureau investigated several cases involving illicit enrichment, conflicts of interest, abuse of office and ethical breaches.
He said the investigations led to the filing of over 200 cases before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CCB was established as an institutional response to the observed deterioration in the conduct of public officers and their abuse of public office for private gains.
The Bureau handles, among others, issues of asset declaration by public officials, as well as the verification of their assets. (NAN)