Agom Tor-Ngusi, the Director of Reforms of Code of Conduct Bureau, says the bureau is not a “punitive organisation” but a body that promotes the culture of honesty, transparency and integrity.
Tor-Ngusi said this on Wednesday during a one-day sensitisation workshop for local government officials, entitled “Activities of Code of Conduct Bureau for Good Governance at the Grassroots Level”, in Umuahia.
He said that the event was organised to sustain the anti-corruption campaign embarked on by the Federal Government, adding that it was better to take steps to prevent the act of corruption.
According to him,the mission of the bureau is targeted at eradicating corrupt practices and establishing high level of morality among public office holders.
Tor-Ngusi said that an effective income and asset declaration culture among public office holders were required, for Nigerians to receive the dividends of good governance.
In her remarks, Chisara Nwachukwu, the Abia Coordinator of CCB, said that the bureau was planning to extend the sensitisation campaign on the importance of asset declaration to the various communities and churches in Abia.
Nwachukwu said: “When people in the grassroots become knowledgeable about asset declaration, they would ensure that public office holders and people representing them in the government efficiently declare their wealth.
“This will help in checking abuse of public office and use of public funds for self aggrandizement, which will go a long way in helping the bureau achieve its mandate.”
Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia disclosed that the state government resolved to align with the aims and goals of the bureau to boost the campaign against corruption.
Ikpeazu, who was represented by Christopher Enweremadu, said that Abia Government would partner the bureau to promote the culture of efficient wealth disclosure in the state.
The governor urged the bureau to maintain its position as an impartial umpire in playing its statutory functions.
Kenneth Ikpeme, the Director of Human Resource Management of CCB, described asset declaration as a tool to facilitate the anti-corruption campaign of the Federal Government.
Ikpeme noted that conducting a verification in event of any asset declaration was necessary and would serve as a key strategy for realising the objective for initiating asset declaration.
According to him, a well conducted verification and its reports carried out through normal procedure and processes will serve as a veritable tool in the fight against corruption.
Wilson Alamba, a resource person, said that the role of religion in fighting corruption would be impactful if it could take up the challenge of educating the citizenry on the negative effects of corruption.
Alamba urged the participants to ensure that they passed the message they received from the training to their various organisations and communities.
In an interview with newsmen, Some participants expressed satisfaction over the content and objective of the training.
A participant, Obinna Ogbonna, said that the training had given him the opportunity to increase his knowledge on operations of the bureau and the need for public office holders to declare their asset.
Another participant, Chima Jeremiah, described the event as timely and said that he would not relent in making active contributions to the fight against corruption.
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