The Code of Conduct Bureau has finished checking the asset declarations submitted by 108 senior officials identified as high risk, a step aimed at tightening accountability across public service. The bureau’s chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Bello, made the disclosure on Thursday in Abuja during the graduation ceremony for the second intake of Agora Policy’s Policy Writing Fellowship, alongside the unveiling of a Local Governance Accountability Portal and a Policy Registry.
Bello said the verification covered 19 ministers, 37 permanent secretaries, 20 heads of government agencies and 32 other senior public office holders. He also announced that the bureau’s Online Asset and Liabilities Declaration System has been fully built and is prepared for deployment and testing. The system is expected to operate as a central repository for asset declarations from public servants nationwide, supporting both compliance and follow-up investigations.
In describing enforcement progress, Bello said the bureau has stepped up its compliance actions, resulting in the forfeiture of several assets, including a property located in London. He added that a number of matters have been escalated to the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Bello further said that the Chief of Staff to a state governor was recently arraigned before the tribunal, presenting the move as evidence that accountability efforts will apply regardless of rank or political position.
At the same event, Ola Olukoyede, chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, participated through the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren. Uwujaren framed the portal as a “game-changer” for strengthening transparency and accountability in local government. He argued that local government finances have often been kept out of public view, and said the portal would provide citizens with the information required to monitor public spending and press for responsible governance.
Earlier, Waziri Adio, Executive Director of Agora Policy, said the platform was designed to close an accountability gap at the grassroots level, even as local governments receive larger budget allocations. Adio said, however, that higher funding has not automatically produced better governance outcomes or improved delivery of services for residents in local communities.
