Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has stated that declaring assets should be the basic expectation for all public office holders in Nigeria, stressing that no official has any reason to ignore the requirement.

The governor also directed that every public officer who is mandated to declare assets should do so immediately without further delay.

Otti made this known while receiving senior officials from the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) from the South-East zone at his office on Tuesday. He explained that both he and his deputy properly declared their assets before assuming office.

According to him, all political appointees and public officers in the state must comply with the constitutional provision on asset declaration. He expressed surprise that some officials had not yet visited the bureau or fulfilled the requirement.

The governor also instructed the Secretary to the State Government, Emmanuel Meribole, to collaborate with relevant authorities to ensure that all public officers in the state comply fully.

Earlier, the Zonal Director of the CCB in the South-East, Akinfolarin Feyishola, urged the governor to support the bureau in educating public officials in Abia State about the importance of asset declaration.