IRONICALLY, as good as the mode of operation and composition of the CCB may seem to be, Benue citizens have over the years not been at home with the operations of the Bureau, as most of them consider it a toothless bull dog.The Sunday Guardian investigation revealed that since its establishment, no public servant or political appointee has been arraigned before the Tribunal even though, there is high level of unprecedented affluence among political office holders.The CCB, whether by omission or commission, has not been hard on those who are supposed to show high moral example.In a chat with senator Joseph Kennedy Waku, the politician wondered why it takes CCB a long period to verify and prosecute erring public servants. He said a lot of governors and other political office holders across the nation are leaving above their legitimate means to the deaf ears and blind eyes of the Bureau.Waku said: 'they have just started, and Nigerians are watching to see the sincerity of the action. We know that a lot of governors and other political office holders down the ladder are living in affluence above their means but the Code of Conduct Tribunal has no issues with them. To me, I think there should be no sacred cow, no selective justice and what is good for the gander should be good for the goose.'Immediate past chairman of Nigeria Bar Association, Benue state, Mr. Donathus Zuanah berated the CCB, noting that the Bureau in the state is only known for giving out forms to politicians for assets declaration and not for prosecuting them for infringing the code.Zuanah maintained that as far as he is concerned, CCB in Nigeria is ineffective and the law should be amended and strengthened to make it effective, so that it will no longer be taken for a joke. He also questioned the integrity of the tribunal for singling out one Governor out of many for trial when many other past governors and politicians that served from 1999 to date were indicted as several quarters.'I think it is high time the Bureau worked with EFCC, ICPC, SSS, police and other agencies to nail offenders,' he advised.In a chat with the CCB Federal Commissioner in charge of the North Central Zone, Dr. (Mrs.) Christy Ekoja who was in the state for assets verification of public servants and political appointees, she noted with dismay poor response by political office holders.She said her experience with the people of the state at indicates that they generally have lukewarm attitude when it comes to compliance with the law. 'My experience is not encouraging. Since we started assets verification, only three out of the present and former legislators have shown up, only commissioners responded well. Only four out of 19 Special Advisers have responded. So it is clear that most people in Benue do not know the importance of assets declaration and do not care that it is a constitutional matter.'Ekoja stressed that the inability of CCB to function effectively in the country, even though it was established 22 years ago, is due to the fact that it was not backed up with a board, pointing out that it was only last year that a board was constituted as enshrined in the constitution. She urged Nigerians to be patient, promising that by the end of this year the people will notice a drastic change.'I want Nigerians to be patient with the CCB, the job is much but a few staff are out there to handle it. There is inadequate funding and the judges are not enough to prosecute offenders and so, we have many cases pending,' she stated.Dr. Ekoja further called on the Benue State government to cooperate with the CCB office in the state to organize enlightenment workshops at all levels to encourage compliance by public office holders.On her part the Benue state Director of CCB, Mrs. A. O. Ighodalo lauded the cooperative attitudes of civil servants in the state but laments over the non- compliance by politicians, especially members of the legislature.Mrs. Ighodalo advised the people of the state to be in touch with the constitution to know what the law requires them to do.In his reaction, a public commentator, Engineer Baba Agan identified corruption in public service as the reason why many don't want their assets known, noting that such assets are acquired through faulty means.Agan said the Code of Conduct Bureau could not work well due to lack of strong law that will compel people to know what is right.
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