•Bureau, CCT’s amendment, exercise in futility –Gbajabiamila
By Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, Kemi Yesufu and Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has begun physical verification of assets declared by governors, ministers, lawmakers and other public officers.
Also, the public officers are expected to be on ground, in a designated place, across federal, states and local government areas, when the CCB team arrives for the verification exercise.
After the Christmas holiday, the CCB disclosed it would go to states to physically verify assets declared by public officers.
In a statement by the AD/Head of Press, Mohammed Idris, the exercise will begin fully next week, after the Christmas break.
On the sidelines of the Conference of Northern States observance of the International Anti-corruption Day, by the Kano State Government, on December 12, CCB Chairman, Sam Saba said “one of the challenges the Bureau faces today is top-ranking public officers not wanting to be verified. They cite reason of the exigencies of office to avoid verification.
The appeal made, therefore, was for public officers invited for verification (conference and field) to oblige the Bureau with their presence in the designated place of verification.”
But, the Bureau also added it “has received the cooperation of ministers, governors and lawmakers as they fill their forms even before the assumption of office as is required by law.
Saba, however, commended those public officers who honoured their invitation thus far and submitted themselves for the exercise.
Meanwhile, Majority leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has described a recent amendment of the CCB, Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Act by the National Assembly as a futile exercise.
He said the amendment is an illegality that cannot stand, adding that President Muhammadu Buhari will not assent to the amendment as it is in conflict with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Gbajabiamila said this when he presented the House’s 2016 scorecard at an interactive session with National Assembly correspondents, in Abuja, at the weekend.
Senate recently amended the CCB/CCT Act, transferring the power to confirm the appointment of the Bureau’s chairman from the president to the National Assembly.
Senate’s action followed an earlier amendment of the CCB/CCT Act by House.
After the Senate’s passage, Gbajabiamila made an unsuccessful attempt to get the House to reverse its earlier amendment.
Gbajabiamila insisted the best option for the House was to reverse itself on the CCB amendment bill.
“Sometimes, some things slip through the cracks. That was exactly what happened with the CCB bill. I still believe it is illegal and unconstitutional. What is important to me is that the amendment is not going to see the light of the day. It would be right for the House to reverse itself, when it discovered that it was done in error,” Gbajabiamila said.
Speaking on the activities of the House in the past 12 months, he said during the period under review, a total of 551 bills were introduced in the House, out of which 179 has passed through second reading, 47 passed into law, while five were thrown out.