The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has advocated for the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to focus more on enlightening public servants on the requirements of the code of conduct.
The Honourable Minister said this while hosting the Acting Chairman of CCB, Barr. Murtala Aliyu Kankia and his team on courtesy visit to the Minister’s Office in Abuja.
Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, however, pointed out that a lot of people, especially civil and public servants ran foul of the code of conduct law out of ignorance. He said many of the civil servants do not know the nitty gritty of the asset declaration law. He therefore urged the Bureau to intensify on the enlightenment campaign and not wait for people to make mistakes concerning the regulations.
The Minister noted that the law of Code of Conduct Bureau was misconstrued. According to Dr. Tunji-Ojo, the law does not say civil servants or public servants should not own a business; what the law said was they cannot run a business.
He attributed the ignorance about the law to the miserable lives civil servants slipped into shortly after their retirement.
The Minister said his Ministry has a common tie with the Code of Conduct Bureau, stating that besides ensuring internal security, the Ministry ensures citizenship integrity, which is all about code of conduct.
He said “strict adherence to code of conduct is what integrity is all about. It means your Agency and this Ministry are tied as Siamese twins.” In terms of compliance, Dr. Tunji-Ojo noted the Ministry was relatively doing well and he assured to raise the bar of the ministry beyond present level.
“People should not approach the law from the angle of fear, but from the angle of respect. The law did not say you shouldn’t prosper but your earnings must be earned legitimately.
He said the Code of Conduct Bureau should not be an agency that denies people opportunity for creativity. People should know what the law allows them to do as they joined the service.
Earlier, in his speech the acting Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau, Barr. Murtala Aliyu Kankia, applauded Honourable Minister for the excellent service he has rendered to the country, since his appointment as Minister, especially as seen in improvement in security and service delivery by the paramilitary Agencies under the Ministry’s supervision due to his reform initiatives.
He equally sought the collaboration of the ministry in the area of enlightenment of paramilitary on assets declaration laws and also for the security of the Bureau’s offices nationwide.
Ozoya Imohimi
Director Press & Public Relations
