Civil and public servants operating other businesses other than their governmental assignments are liable to face the wrath of the law, a senior Director of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) has warned.
The CCB Director in Ogun State, Mrs. Titi Evbuomwan said Civil and public servants are strictly prohibited from owning or running private businesses except farming.
Addressing staffers of the Ogun State Independent Electoral Commission (OGSIEC) yesterday in Abeokuta, Mrs. Evbuomwan enumerated the guidelines, rules and regulations governing the newly introduced self-service online asset declaration platform.
The CCB State Director outlined the rules guiding the asset declaration process, revealing that “there are 14 codes regulating public service in Nigeria”.
She emphasized that civil and public servants were strictly prohibited from owning or running private businesses, with farming being the exception.
The Director clarified that “in cases where an individual already owns or inherits a business, such a person is legally barred from managing it personally while in active service”.
Speaking on the legal framework, the CCB Officer in Charge of Federal Operations, Mr. Olusegun Ajigbotafe educated the Commission’s staff on the statutory obligations related to the asset form, providing detailed insights into proper documentation, as well as the legal rules guiding loans and property acquisition for public office holders to ensure full compliance with the law.
The CCB Officer in Charge of State Operations and the Commission’s Schedule Officer, Mr. Abiola Olatunde, conducted a step-by-step walkthrough of the online form, explaining how to fill the various sections and accurately answer each field.
He warned that earning salaries from two different workplaces simultaneously remained a punishable offence under Nigerian law, imploring that the form should be submitted within 30 days of uploading, just as exceeding the stipulated days also remained punishable under the law.
Welcoming Officials of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in Ogun State, who were at the electoral body’s office in Abeokuta for the exercise, Permanent Secretary of OGSIEC, Mr. AbdulAzeez Ajidele, enjoined staff to treat the exercise with utmost seriousness, stressing the need for absolute precision, accuracy and honesty during the process.
Ajidele, revealed that any false declaration would inevitably be discovered and would be met with strict legal consequences.
