Asset Declaration Reform: Tinubu Boosts CCB Budget

Asset Declaration Reform: Tinubu Boosts CCB Budget
Raise budget from ₦3bn to Nearly ₦20bn
The 2025 budget provided only about ₦70 million for printing, enough for just 50,000 to 60,000 forms

President Bola Tinubu has approved a major increase in the budget of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), raising its allocation from about ₦3 billion to nearly ₦20 billion in a move aimed at strengthening asset declaration, verification and enforcement.

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Eko Hot Blog reports that the Chairman of the bureau, Abubakar Bello, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja, explaining that the enhanced funding would support a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s asset declaration system.

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Bello said the increase would enable the CCB to invest in modern technology, improve its work environment, strengthen verification processes and boost its enforcement capacity. He noted that the bureau had long relied on a largely manual, paper-based system that was costly, inefficient and difficult to manage.

According to him, when he assumed office, asset declaration forms were scarce and expensive to print, store and analyse, despite demand from more than 4.5 million public servants nationwide. He said the challenge was compounded by the 2025 budget, which provided only about ₦70 million for printing, enough for just 50,000 to 60,000 forms.

To ease the pressure, the bureau temporarily adopted a system that allowed public servants to download declaration forms from its website. However, Bello said this approach only addressed availability and not the deeper problem of manual processing.

He revealed that the CCB is now at an advanced stage of developing a fully digital asset declaration platform, expected to be ready by the first quarter of 2026. The platform will allow public servants to declare assets from anywhere in the world.

Asset Declaration Reform: Tinubu Boosts CCB Budget

Describing the system as a “game changer,” Bello said it would be integrated with key national databases, including those of the Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Bank Verification Number system and land registries, to enable instant and effective verification.

He added that artificial intelligence would be deployed to analyse declarations, compare net worth at the beginning and end of a public servant’s tenure, and flag cases of unexplained wealth or possible breaches of the Code of Conduct.

Bello also disclosed that the bureau has begun asset verification exercises involving ministers, permanent secretaries and other senior officials, stressing that verification is different from investigation. He noted that the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, had already appeared for verification, which he described as a strong signal of leadership by example.

According to the CCB chairman, the verification process has led to interim forfeiture orders in some cases where assets were not declared or their sources could not be justified, including properties located within and outside Nigeria. Some recovered funds, he said, have already been transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He warned that failure to declare assets or refusal to honour verification invitations could result in investigations and possible prosecution before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, urging public servants to comply with the bureau’s guiding principle: “Declare or Forfeit.”