BEYOND SYMBOLISM - THE POLITICS OF ASSETS DECLARATION AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN NIGERIA

Nwozor, Agaptus (2010) BEYOND SYMBOLISM - THE POLITICS OF ASSETS DECLARATION AND PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY IN NIGERIA. African Journal of Public Administration and Management, 1 (1 & 2). pp. 148-161.

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Abstract

Assets declqrotion requirement is a cardinal tool/br the promotion of integrie in the public service. Thefi/th schedule of the 1999 I'ligerian constitution elaborately encases a code of condtrctfor all public fficials. This code of conduct provision is an important constitutional bulwark to rein in the temptation qssociated with the abuse oJ'one s fficial positionforprivate gains. Butwhat is highly doubful is the sincerity of the custodians of power to allow the code to have its.full course and impact. Consistent -*ith elite preoccupation tyith class survival, several hurdles appear to have been placed on the path of assets declaration requirement with the result that it has not served as q disincentive to unwholesome practices in the public domain as it ought to have done. The supervisory institution set up by the constitution, the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) seems to be hamstrung by certain systemic inadequacies. This paper examines these systemic inadequacies that undermine the effectiveness of assets declqration mechanism in l{igeria's public domain. It concludes that the conversion ofpublic fficeJbr personal gains is still rife. This is compounded by the deliberate elite conspiracy to shield completed assets declarationforms (CADFs) and treat the institutional incapacity of CCB with not iceabl e i ndifference.

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