The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-ojo has charged the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, to focus more on enlightening public servants on the requirements of the code of conduct.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Interior, Ozoya Imohimi.
According to the statement, Tunji-Ojo made the call while hosting the Acting Chairman of CCB, Murtala Kankia, and his team, who were on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
He, however, noted that a lot of people, particularly civil and public servants, ran afoul of the code of conduct law out of ignorance.
Stressing that many civil servants do not know the nitty gritty of the asset declaration law, the minister urged the Bureau to intensify the enlightenment campaign and not wait for people to make mistakes concerning the regulations.
He added that the Code of Conduct was misconstrued; stressing that the law does not say civil servants or public servants should not own a business but that they cannot run a business.
Tunji-Ojo blamed ignorance about the law for the miserable lives civil servants slip 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, Tunji-Ojo noted that the Ministry was doing relatively well. He promised to raise the bar of the Ministry beyond the 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 the opportunity for creativity. “People should know what the law allows them to do when joining the service,” he stressed.
Earlier, the acting Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Murtala Aliyu Kankia, applauded the minister for the excellent service he has rendered to the country since his appointment, especially as seen in the 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 agencies on assets declaration laws and also for the security of the Bureau’s offices nationwide.
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