The Senate has pledged concrete legislative action to ensure the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) receive adequate funding.

Senator Neda Imasuen, chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petition, stated the Senate position on Tuesday in Abuja.

The lawmaker spoke at a programme on the review of the CCB’s newly designed Online Assets and Liabilities Declaration System (ALDS), organised by the bureau.

Mr Imasuen raised concerns over both agencies’ inadequate funding, which he said had hindered their effectiveness in fighting corruption.

According to him, in 2022, the CCB received a meagre allocation, with its workers struggling with unpaid salaries and poor working conditions.

”I am impressed and proud of what the bureau is doing with the new technology.

“I think it is one of these initiatives that I believe will move the bureau forward to achieve that goal for which it was set, that is, tackling institutional corruption,” he said.

He described the CCB chairman as a “new sheriff taking the bull by the horns” and expressed his expectation that the initiative would soon yield results.

According to the lawmaker, the CCB chairman championed a move to have both agencies draw their funds directly from the “front line charge” in the federation account.

He said the move was intended to guarantee funding and enhance the agencies’ autonomy.

“It is desirable, and we need to have it because of the current paucity of funds that has crippled the CCT, leading to a lack of judges and a stalled prosecution process.

“We must put all our forces behind it to make sure that it functions very well,” he said.

Mr Imasuen vowed to be an “ambassador” for the funding initiative, aiming to see it realised by 2026.

The chairman of the CCB, Abdullahi Bello, said that the new system signalled a new era of accountability for public officials.

He described the initiative as a critical step towards modernising the fight against graft by replacing a cumbersome, costly manual process that has hampered the Bureau for decades.

(NAN)