The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), has invited the Minister of Interior, Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo over the award of a N438 million contract to a company linked to him in the case involving the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
A statement by the Head, Press and Public Relations of the CCB, Veronica Kato, said the Bureau has commenced investigation into the alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers by the Minister of Interior.
She said (today) the minister is invited to appear before the Bureau on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at CCB Headquarters located at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Abuja.
The statement said the invitation to the Minister by the Bureau is hinged on its mandate and powers as enshrined in the Third Schedule, Part 1, 3 (e) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
The minister has been in the news recently for an alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, particularly, a conflict of interest in the execution of a contract awarded to a company belonging to the Minister by the suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs.
A company named New Planet Projects, benefitted from an alleged contract scam from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
A leaked memo had shown that the firm received N438 million as payment for ‘consultancy fees’ from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
However, the interior minister denies any involvement in the contract, insisting that he was no longer involved in the running of the company after resigning as its director in 2019.
Despite the denial, the CBB in an invitation dated 10 January 2014, has asked Tunji-Ojo to appear before it today for interrogation.
The invitation letter was signed by Gwimi S.P, who heads CCB’s department of intelligence, investigation and monitoring.
However, in a legal opinion on the legal propriety of ownership or retention of shares in Planet Projects Limited by Hon. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, a legal practitioner, Tope Adebayo, stated that it is in the public space, as supported by forms registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, that he resigned his directorship in the Company in 2019, when he was elected as a member of the House of Representatives, adding that having reviewed the law, statutory provisions and decided cases, he is of the professional opinion that having resigned as a director of the company, it is not illegal or unconstitutional to continue to own or retain his shares in the company, as a public officer.
He said that going by basic principles of company law, the ownership of shares, even controlling shares in a company does not make one an alter-ego or director of the company as the management of a company is vested in the board of directors, adding that “once a person resigns as a director of a company, he ceases to be part of the management team of the company, because resignation from employment is personal and unilateral.”
“It is also necessary to state that in law, a shareholder has no personal right to the property or funds of a company because a shareholder’s rights are limited to the right to sell or mortgage his/her shares, receive declared dividends and attend or vote at the general meetings of the company.
“With this appreciation of the law, we turn to the question of owning shares as a public officer. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as altered), prescribes a code of conduct for persons serving in the public service of the federation, i.e., public officers. With respect to participation in private business, Paragraph 2(b) of the 5th Schedule to the Constitution provides as follows:
“A public officer shall not except where he is not employed on full time basis, engage or participate in the management or running of any private business, profession or trade, but nothing in this sub-paragraph shall prevent a public officer from engaging in farming.
“It suffices to state that Paragraph 2(b) quoted above is a reproduction of Section 6 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP. C15, LFN 2004. However, what is clear is that the law prohibits a public officer from engaging or participating in the actual management or running of a private business, see: OKOYA V. SANTILI (1994) 4 NWLR (Pt. 338) 256 at 289F-H,” he said.
He added that “the decision in NWANKWO v. NWANKWO cited earlier is determinative of the question as to whether a public officer can invest or own shares in a private company. It is our professional opinion that, as long you are not involved in the running or management of New Plant Projects Limited, you are at liberty to continue to own your shares and invest in the Company. Your only legal obligation is to declare the said shares as an asset in the forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.”
He concluded that “it is necessary to state that pursuant to Section 16 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, complaints as regards breaches of the Code of Conduct ought to be directed to the Code of Conduct Bureau; and the only body vested with the authority to make determinations that there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct is the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”
He added that the legal opinion was provided based on the law as it presently stands.
Nigerian Tribune notes that the provisions of the Public Service Rules allows that a public officer on appointment “shall disclose within three working days, in confidence, full information about any investments held by him her or his her immediate family whether held in their own names or the names of other persons or otherwise and where an officer is called upon to divest himself of investments which are likely to lead to public scandal or are likely to be construed as an indication that the officer has abused his/ public position for his private advantage, and if he fails to comply within six months, the matter shall be reported to the Federal Civil Service Commission for necessary action.”
