CCT to try 50 public officers in Akwa Ibom

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) would between Dec. 6 and Dec. 9 relocate to Akwa Ibom for the trial of 50 public officers in the state who allegedly breached the code of conduct ethics.

Mr Danladi Umar, Chairman of the tribunal, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to him, the defendants comprise of ex-Special Advisers and Local Government Councillors that served between 2008 and 2009.

According to him, two Clerks from Esit and Etim Local Governments will also be tried.

“The tribunal’s itinerant session helps to clear up backlogs of cases in the zone within the period of the session. It also makes legal services at the door step of the defaulters, particularly the low-ranking public officers and as well serves as a means of publicising the activities of the tribunal within the zone.

“The essence is to further strengthen the relationship between CCT and the hosting state, whose infrastructure and other logistics would be used for the session,’’ he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the tribunal is the enforcement and disciplinary arm of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

All public officers in the Federal, State and Local Government levels are compelled by the Act of the bureau to declare their assets within the period of engagement.

NAN further reports that the tribunal recently convicted the former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, for breaching CCB Act, while the trial of the President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, at the tribunal is ongoing.