With ethical problems
lingering in the nation’s public service, the country’s 2020 project
will be blurred, the Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB),
Barrister Yakubu Tuktur, has said.
At a press conference in Abuja
Tuesday, Tuktur said that unethical conduct by public officials
constitutes the major obstacle to the country joining the top 20
economies of the world in the year 2020, adding that, "our greatness
as a nation and our goodness as a people is complete when placed on
a clean plate of transparency and accountability".
According to him, asset
declaration by public officers is a serious issue that requires an
ethical decision, pointing out that: "Our vision for the future is a
situation where public officers declare assets on time, honestly and
with integrity, as a matter of course and not of compulsion".
He regretted that people tend
to do what they want and what is in their personal interest against
what is the right thing to do, which, he noted puts a moral burden
on the Bureau to sensitise the public on their responsibility
regarding their conduct as public officers and the need to insist on
public accountability.
Tukfur told the press
conference that monitoring the lifestyles of public officers which
manifest in the assets acquired should not be left only to
government agencies fighting corruption, noting that the social
tolerance level of the people determines the success and the
sustainability of an anti-corruption strategy of the government.
He said the delay in making
the terms and conditions for public access by the National Assembly
erode public confidence on the potency of assets declaration as an
instrument of transparency and accountability in public office.
The CCB boss said one of the
major challenges the Bureau faced during investigation is lack of
public capacity to make complaints that serves the interest of the
people, just as he described most of the complaints as frivolous and
vindictive.
"Where we find merit, we run
into some brick walls either because the complainant is afraid to
disclose identity, contact address or lack of capacity to make
complaints that can generate credible evidence to withstand the
stress of prosecution at the Tribunal", he said.
The Bureau, he noted is
pressing for the passage of the whistle blowers protection and
freedom of information bills and is also making effort to manage and
solve complaints, enforce recommendations, play advisory role and
provide technical solutions that would render public service
delivery more responsive, effective and efficient.