Breaking the law: Number 2
Nigerian public officers are required to declare “immediately after taking office and thereafter all” their properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his (or her) unmarried children under the age of eighteen years,” Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution stipulates (Section 11, Part of the Fifth Schedule).

PREMIUM TIMES investigation also found that Mr Obi breached this constitutional provision on assets declaration. We can authoritatively report that Mr Obi did not declare to the Code of Conduct Bureau the companies he tucked away in offshore secrecy havens.

Mr Obi caused to be created for him a structure of secrecy that had previously, until the Pandora Papers investigation, meant he could continue to hold foreign assets in a way that breaches Nigeria’s law without the knowledge of authorities in the country. In an extra layer of secrecy, Mr Obi used paid nominees as directors, while he remains the ultimate beneficial owner, making it nearly impossible to discover his interests in those companies but we obtained rare incorporation documents proving his link.

Otherwise, Mr Obi could have forever hoped to continue to hold the assets, that he did not declare when he had a statutory obligation to do so as a governor, without any authority or the public calling him to account.

In his response, Mr Obi ridiculously suggested that those offshore companies and assets are jointly owned with his family members and that he was not under obligation to declare companies jointly owned. “I don’t declare what is owned with others,” Mr Obi told PREMIUM TIMES. “If my family owns something I won’t declare it. I didn’t declare anything I jointly owed with anyone.”

This is contrary to the position of the Constitution, which specifies the declaration of all assets, whether jointly or partly owned, PREMIUM TIMES’ reporters told Mr Obi. He said he was not aware of that provision of the law.

Nevertheless, leaked records show Mr Obi is the sole ultimate beneficial owner of the offshore companies. So he did not even jointly own it with anyone.

In that case, Mr Obi has violated Nigeria’s Code of Conduct law and, if authorities decide to act appropriately, he could be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, a special court that tries public officers for any contravention of the Code of Conduct for Nigerian public officers as spelt out in the Fifth Schedule of the Nigerian constitution.

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) were established to enforce “a high standard of morality in the conduct of government business, and to ensure that the actions and behaviour of public officers conform to the highest standards of public morality and accountability.”

Commentor:

Philipponzaghi:


Obi Pandora is a crook

1427s:
[s][/s]

Felimax:
We own a company with you and you will now declare as your own or our own? For what exactly?
My kids have a greater part of the company shares and it will not make sense to declare it as mine.
My kid of 6 and wife hold 60% of company shares and with that i am not the title owner.
Obi is free to go!

Difrent:


What stops you from declaring just your interest in the company.....nowhere was it said that he should declare the whole company as his own na.... other officials with similar situations just simply declare i own 10 or 20% percentage of so so company....simple.
For eg if you own shares in a bank....simply declare your number of shares in the bank or the percentage of yours share ....simple
Obi goofed.....that he wasnt aware he was supppsed to declare is not an excuse....like lawyers say...ignorance is not an excuse
Stop defending the indefensible

Bewiseedet:
Ndi igbo be clamouring for presidency yet they can never be trusted. Imagine saint Peter Obi hoarding assets acquired with Nigerians tax payers money.

freeingzw:

Difrent:


What stops you from declaring just your interest in the company.....nowhere was it said that he should declare the whole company as his own na.... other officials with similar situations just simply declare i own 10 or 20% percentage of so so company....simple.
For eg if you own shares in a bank....simply declare your number of shares in the bank or the percentage of yours share ....simple
Obi goofed.....that he wasnt aware he was supppsed to declare is not an excuse....like lawyers say...ignorance is not an excuse
Stop defending the indefensible

Felimax:
We own a company with you and you will now declare as your own or our own? For what exactly?
My kids have a greater part of the company shares and it will not make sense to declare it as mine.
My kid of 6 and wife hold 60% of company shares and with that i am not the title owner.
Obi is free to go!

freeingzw:
Obi Pandora is a thief and he broke Nigeria law.

He said he does not know he need to report assets that he co-own with his family members which is first a lie.

His first child was born in 1994 which is just 16 years from 2010 when he established the Gabriella Investment Ltd.

That means he co-owned the company with his 16 year child which he developed amnesia such that he could not tell the government of the company existence then.

Nigeria Government should arrest and prosecute Obi Pandora or else we will protest:

freeingzw:
Obi Pandora is a thief and he broke Nigeria law.

He said he does not know he need to report assets that he co-own with his family members which is first a lie.

His first child was born in 1994 which is just 16 years from 2010 when he established the Gabriella Investment Ltd.

That means he co-owned the company with his 16 year child which he developed amnesia such that he could not tell the government of the company existence then.

Nigeria Government should arrest and prosecute Obi Pandora or else we will protest:

Bewiseedet:
Ndi igbo be clamouring for presidency yet they can never be trusted. Imagine saint Peter Obi hoarding assets acquired with Nigerians tax payers money.

Tochj:
Tell me just one politician in your region that can be trusted Name one.