Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged the Code of Conduct Bureau to remain apolitical and fully commit to ongoing digitisation reforms. He gave the directive on Friday during a meeting with a CCB delegation led by Chairman Abdullahi Bello at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Shettima emphasized the importance of independence, advising the bureau to avoid controversy while carrying out its mandate. He stressed that public officers should be able to declare assets and liabilities electronically from any location, eliminating reliance on paper forms.
The vice president said digitisation would reduce delays and align Nigeria with international practices. He acknowledged the bureau's current reform efforts, particularly in digitising processes, and encouraged sustained progress. "Remain steadfast. Be as apolitical as humanly possible and do your job as much as you can," Shettima told the delegation. He added that the CCB plays a vital role in shaping Nigeria's image and that officials should be held accountable now that systems are digitised.
Abdullahi Bello, speaking earlier, thanked President Bola Tinubu for increased budgetary support to the bureau. He said the CCB had implemented reforms, including digitisation, and had intensified verification, investigation, and prosecution. These efforts, he noted, had led to asset recoveries both within Nigeria and abroad, including in London. Bello assured that the anti-corruption drive would continue for national development.
Shettima calls for CCB neutrality while the bureau operates under a government that appointed its leadership and controls its funding. The same administration praising digitisation progress has not made public how many asset declarations were submitted or verified online. Officials can now avoid visiting CCB offices, but there is no confirmation of sanctions for those who fail to comply digitally. The bureau's recoveries in London and elsewhere raise questions about how many cases originated from verified local declarations.
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