| The Nigerian Senate |
In a bid to stop the Code of
Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) from being used to
score political points, the Senate has initiated moves to remove the
organisations from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation (SGF).
The quest is being sponsored by the
lawmakers through a bill captioned: “Code of Conduct Act CAP, C15 LFN 2004
(Amendment) Bill, 2016 (SB248). The bill, which is sponsored by Senator Peter
Nwaboshi (PDP Delta North), passed its first reading on the floor of the Senate
on Tuesday.
There are speculations that the
proposed law is designed to save incumbent Senate President Abubakar Bukola
Saraki from his ongoing trial at the CCT for alleged false declaration of
assets.
In an interview with the sponsor
of the bill on its import, Nwaboshi simply said that the Bill was meant to save
Nigerians from overzealous politicians.
According to him, “the Code of
Conduct Tribunal and the Code of Conduct Bureau, which are now under the Office
of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) who is a politician,
can be used against political opponents or perceived political enemies.”