President Bola Tinubu has appointed Dr. Abdullahi Bello as the new Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Bello will take over from Prof. Isah Mohammed, who was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in November 2018.
The announcement was made through a statement issued on Thursday by Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale. Ngelale described Bello as an accomplished professional with over 25 years of experience across consulting, banking, law enforcement, financial services, and academia.
The Code of Conduct Bureau was established in 1979 by the Nigerian Constitution to set codes of conduct for public officers. However, it received its legal mandate in 1989 under the Babangida regime through the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
Among its key responsibilities, the CCB is mandated to receive asset declarations from public officers, examine these declarations, retain custody of them, and make them available for inspection by Nigerian citizens under terms prescribed by the National Assembly.
In the statement, President Tinubu expressed his expectation that upon confirmation by the Senate, the new CCB Chairman will lead the Bureau with utmost integrity to realize its mandate of maintaining high standards of public morality in government business. Bello is also tasked with ensuring that the actions and behavior of public officers conform to the highest standards of morality and accountability.