By Sunday Aborisade:
The Commissioners in the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) have asked the Senate to commence investigations into the corruption allegations they levelled against their Chairman, Prof. Mohammed Isah.The CCB is the Ombudsman set up to fight corruption within the public service system through scrutiny of assets declaration forms of civil and public service officers.
But the commissioners in the federal agency, besieged the Senate last Friday and raised the alarm that the anti-graft body was enmeshed in what it was established to fight.The six federal commissioners in the anti – graft agency documented a petition full of corrupt allegations against their boss and submitted it to the Senate committee on Ethics , Privileges and Public Petitions .
Led by Dr. Emmanuel Attah, the commissioners alleged corrupt practices being perpetrated by the CCB Chairman.They specifically cited his alleged blocking of the probe of the former accountant general of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, who was accused of allegedly having assets worth over N109 billion.
They said their colleagues in the petition they jointly signed had accused the embattled CCB Chairman of allegedly blocking necessary investigation into the assets declaration forms of some corrupt officials in the last four years.
They further alleged that some of the affected officials have multi-billion naira assets not stated in the forms they submitted to the CCB.The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions led by Senator Ayo Akinyelure, has therefore, asked the CCB Chairman to appear before the panel on Thursday, 6th October , 2022 by 2:00pm prompt.
Isah was absent at the panel sitting but five out of the six commissioners were present.The absence of the CCB Chairman made Akinyelure to, with consent of other panel members, directed the CCB Chairman to appear before the committee unfailingly on Thursday.
He said, “The petition before this committee on allegations against the Chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau ( CCB) bordering on corrupt practices is worrisome and must be here to defend himself .“The seriousness of the matter lies on the fact that the petitioners are even the six federal commissioners appointed to be working with him in the fight against corruption.
“The Commissioners are here but the Chairman who is in the eye of the storm is not here. We have gone through all the issues raised in the jointly signed petition by the Commissioners and they are very disturbing if eventually proven.
“Therefore for fair hearing, we are re-inviting the Chairman to appear before this committee on Thursday, 6th October, 2022 unfailingly by 2:00pm prompt for require response or responses from him on all allegations leveled against him in the petition,” he said.
While speaking with journalists after their engagement with the Senate panel, one of the commissioners, Hon Ehiozuwa Agbonayinma, said they petitioned the Chairman to save CCB from self – inflicted incapacitation slammed on it by the Chairman.According to him, all the commissioners and the Chairman, were appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to help in the war against corruption within the public service itself at all levels.
“The Chairman based on his conducts is not ready to fight the war in anyway but sabotage it by sitting on series of petitions written against corrupt public officers whose assets far outweighs what were declared in the Assets Declaration Forms.“The N109 billion loot allegedly linked to the now being investigated Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, was first reported to CCB through petitions but prevented from being acted upon by the Chairman.
“We are ever ready to support Mr. President’s war against corruption but very disturbed by the frustration being thrown into it in CCB by no less a person, than the Chairman.
“We have written petition against him as declared by the Senate Committee on Ethics , Privileges and Public Petitions here today and want him to meet us face to face before members of the committee for whatever defence he wants to make .“Corruption must be killed in Nigeria before it kills us and anybody not ready to join in the fight or war against it, should be shown the way out of public service , particularly those saddled with responsibilities of curbing corrupt practices in the country like CCB”, he said .
Other Commissioners with him were Prof. Folorunsho Ogundare, Ubolo Okpanachi and Ben Nnana.
