The CCB was established in Nigeria in 1979 during the Second Republic after 13 years of military rule by the founding fathers of the first post-military constitution.

The 1979 Constitution provided a list of Codes of Conduct for public officers. The military administration of Murtala /Obasanjo inaugurated a Board before handing over power to the civilian government in July 1983, which could not make appreciable impact because of the inability of the National Assembly of the second republic to pass the enabling law. Several years later in 1989, the Bureau got its legal mandate under the Babangida regime.

The Code of Conduct provision has since then maintained a permanence of some sort, in the 5th schedule of all constitutions following thereafter; 1989, 1993, 1995,1999 and the current 1999 constitution (as amended).