The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has raised alarm over a growing trend in which some public officers make anticipatory declarations of assets to justify future acts of corruption and illicit wealth.
Olukoyede made the disclosure in Abuja on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, while delivering a goodwill message at the launch of the Virtual Tool on the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, organised by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) in collaboration with the Technical Unit on Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Reforms (TUGAR).
Explaining the scheme, he revealed that EFCC investigators uncovered a case where a politically exposed person declared ownership of a luxury property valued at over N3 billion before it was even built.
“We discovered a big property listed in the CCB form with an address different from its actual location. Upon further interrogation, it turned out the person declared the asset when it did not yet exist,” Olukoyede said.
He urged the CCB to be vigilant and adopt innovative investigative approaches to curb such schemes.
Also speaking at the event, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), said that adherence to ethical standards is the bedrock of public service.
He described the new virtual tool as a milestone in digitizing the monitoring of public conduct, adding that it will promote preventive compliance and awareness among public officers.
The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Didi Esther Walson-Jack, stressed the importance of leveraging technology for faster, smarter, and more transparent governance.
“Without ethics, no reform will last. Ethical governance is not optional,” she said, adding that the new tool is cost-effective, user-friendly, and promotes transparency.
In his opening remarks, CCB Chairman Abdullahi Usman Bello said the platform will improve accountability and guide public servants through clear rules and regulations.
