SERAP demands PMB, other officials to publish assets ahead of handover
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to lead by example as the African Union Anti-Corruption Champion by publishing his asset declaration form ahead of May 29, when a new administration will be inaugurated in Nigeria.
In an open letter to the President, SERAP also urged him to encourage other high-ranking officials, including Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Dr. Ahmad Lawan, and Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, to do the same.
SERAP emphasized that publishing the assets of public officials would enable Nigerians to scrutinize them and know the worth of their leaders before they take office and at the end of their term.
According to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, all public officers are required to declare their assets immediately after taking office, at the end of every four years, and at the end of their term of office.
SERAP maintained that those who voluntarily seek or occupy public offices and are catered for by the public have certain fiduciary duties to be open, transparent, and accountable to Nigerians regarding the details of their asset declaration forms.
SERAP also stressed that asset declaration forms are public documents and that public officials cannot claim that publishing their assets would violate their privacy rights. The organization stated that there is an overriding public interest in disclosing information on the assets of public officers who are trustees of Nigeria’s wealth and resources.
In the open letter, SERAP referenced former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who consistently published his asset declaration forms as president and governor of Katsina State, and planned legislative reform to make it mandatory for all public officers to declare their assets publicly.
By publishing his assets, Yar’Adua believed that he would put pressure on other public officers to do so. SERAP urged President Buhari to follow this good example, saying that it would show his commitment to upholding the country’s constitutional guarantees and international obligations and leave a legacy of transparency and accountability.
SERAP noted that their request is brought in the public interest, in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, the UN Convention against Corruption, the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.
SERAP highlighted that the Nigerian Constitution and the anti-corruption and human rights treaties show the significant role that asset declaration by public officials plays in promoting transparency, accountability, and preventing and combating corruption in the public service.
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