By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
The Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, yesterday in Abuja said it had commenced  verification of personal assets declared by Ministers under President Goodluck Jonathan.

The commission said it was poised towards verifying the genuineness of the assets declared by the Ministers with a view to identifying those that furnished it with false information.

It further disclosed maintained that it had so far verified the assets of 18 ministers in the Conference Verification, adding that assets of the remaining 22 ministers would be authenticated before the end of this month.

The CCB, however, vowed to initiate criminal proceedings against any of them found to have supplied it with false information, stressing that it had already ordered the remaining ministers to come before it with relevant documents of properties declared in their assets declaration forms.

“The Code of Conduct Bureau has commenced the verification of assets declared by Ministers.  The Conference Verification of Assets declared by Ministers started in September 2010 and will end in March 2011. Verification of Assets declared by public officers is to ensure that what is declared is confirmed through scrutinization of relevant documents, assets profiling and tracking. Through this method, anticipatory and false declarations are exposed,” read a statement issued yesterday by the Head, Press and Public Relations Unit of the CCB, Mrs Idowu Jokpeyibo.

“CCB has already verified the assets of 18 ministers in the Conference Verification and the remaining 22 ministers who are to be verified before the end of February have already been notified and they are expected to come with all supporting documents of properties declared in their Assets forms.

“The Bureau, therefore calls on Ministers who have been notified of the days of their verification to turn-up as scheduled to enable the Bureau conclude its duties well ahead of time.  Failure to turn- up for Conference Verification is a breach of the code and offenders will face prosecution at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“The Ministers who have resigned their appointments or who wish to resign are advised to make their end of tenure declaration at the code of Conduct Bureau office as stipulated in the 1999 Constitution or face prosecution.”