Publish Your Assets Within Seven Days, SERAP Tells Buhari, Others

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent Freedom of Information requests to President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, 36 state governors and their deputies, urging them provide information on summary of the assets, specifically property and income, contained in your asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) since your assumption of office.

SERAP is also asking them to clarify within seven days of the receipt or publication of this letter, if they have had any reason to review and update the asset declarations submitted to the CCB, and to provide the summary of any such review; failing which it will take all appropriate legal action to compel them to comply with their request.

The organisation said the summary of assets to be disclosed include, where applicable, savings and other liquid assets, all immovable property and shares and actions in any private and public companies; property purchased by way of tender from any public-law entities and information about businesses owned.”

In the FoI requests dated January 3, 2020 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the FoI Act, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which is part of our laws, read together, impose transparency obligations on all public officials to publicly disclose information concerning their asset declarations submitted to the CCB, and to clarify any updated review of such assets.”

SERAP also said: “The nonpublic disclosure by public officials of their summary of assets seriously undermines the effectiveness and integrity of the constitutional and statutory obligations to submit asset declarations, especially given that declarations are designed to curb grand corruption. The non-disclosure of assets also undermines the authority of the

CCB and weakens the public trust in the asset declaration regimes.”

In the specific FoI request to President Buhari, SERAP noted his “public promise to make specific details of your assets public, and urge you to consider this FoI request as a unique opportunity to fulfill the promise made to the Nigerian people.”