The President Will Not Declare His Assets on the Pages of Newspapers,” Say Dr. Reuben Abati
The Special Assistant to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati has asked Nigerians who demand that the President Jonathan should declare his assets to check with the Code of Conduct Bureau. Dr. Abati made the push back last weekend in an interview with SaharaTV.
Asked why the president has not declared his assets, Dr. Abati said, “You can’t be really sure about that. If the assets are declared, the president will not declare his asset on the pages of newspapers. The declaration of assets is done with the Code of Conduct Bureau.”
When pressed if he could attest that president has declared his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr. Abati told SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo, “You have to check with the Code of Conduct Bureau office.”
Last October, the African Center for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) dragged the Code of Conduct Bureau to court for failing to release to the public the asset declaration of the president. AFRICMIL had in July of 2011 sent a Freedom of Information request “to be allowed to inspect and obtain copies of the 2007 asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; the asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after the end of his tenure on May 28, 2011; and the current asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when he assumed office on May 29, 2011.”
Paragraph 3, Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, provides that the Code of Conduct Bureau shall have power to: (a) receive declarations by public officers made under paragraph 12 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Constitution; (b) examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law; (c) retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
On SaharaTV show dedicated to mark Nigeria’s Democracy Day and President Jonathan’s one-year in office, Dr. Abati went on to heap praises on the achievement of President Jonathan.
“Nigeria today is a much more respected country, it continues to show leadership within the international arena,” Dr. Abati told SaharaTV. “A lot of Nigerians, they come up with this assumption, cynical in my opinion if I may say so, that this administration has done nothing, that this administration has failed, they make it seem as if nothing has happened in our lives in the last one year. But in deed a lot has happened in the last one year. This administration has been productive, it has been responsive, and it has worked at all point in the interest of Nigerians.”
The former editorial board chairman of the Guardian newspaper listed the last election as one of the achievements of this administration, describing it as free and fair. “But you know when the phrase is used – free, fair, and credible - it is done in relative terms,” Abati said. “It is not in absolute terms. So there will still be a few cases, but if you compare with what we have in the past, you will see that relatively, you can make that assertion.”
Abati also said the president has begun an anti-terrorist program, which is in the forefront of ensuring security in the country. “But people are still not satisfied,” he lamented. “Perhaps we have not done enough in communicating the administration’s achievement.”
According to Abati, on Democracy Day, the president addressed many of those issues and asked the ministers to give account of what they have done. “The picture that he paints is that of a humble president, giving an honest account of what he has done, in the last 12 months,” he said.
When asked why he has been silent about the Malabu oil case, Abati said to SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo, “Some of the issues raised were legal issues. And the Attorney General issued a statement, making it very clear that this is a business transaction. Now what I have seen also is a desperate attempt by certain persons to drag President Jonathan into it. Whereas for President Jonathan it is not a personal thing; it is just a business matter as explained by the Attorney General of the federation. But it may get to a stage when the presidency will need to offer further interventions.”
Abati added, “The AG has already offered an explanation about what exactly happened. I don’t have a statement right here with me, but if it becomes necessary, the Attorney General may further clarify the position of the government.”
However, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku disagreed with the rush to assess President Jonathan’s tenure. Speaking on the same SaharaTV program, Maku urged Nigerians to give President Jonathan more time.


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The President Will Not Declare His Assets on the Pages of Newspapers,” Say Dr. Reuben Abati
The Special Assistant to the President on Media, Dr. Reuben Abati has asked Nigerians who demand that the President Jonathan should declare his assets to check with the Code of Conduct Bureau. Dr. Abati made the push back last weekend in an interview with SaharaTV.
Asked why the president has not declared his assets, Dr. Abati said, “You can’t be really sure about that. If the assets are declared, the president will not declare his asset on the pages of newspapers. The declaration of assets is done with the Code of Conduct Bureau.”
When pressed if he could attest that president has declared his assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr. Abati told SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo, “You have to check with the Code of Conduct Bureau office.”
Last October, the African Center for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) dragged the Code of Conduct Bureau to court for failing to release to the public the asset declaration of the president. AFRICMIL had in July of 2011 sent a Freedom of Information request “to be allowed to inspect and obtain copies of the 2007 asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan; the asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan after the end of his tenure on May 28, 2011; and the current asset declaration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when he assumed office on May 29, 2011.”
Paragraph 3, Part I of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, provides that the Code of Conduct Bureau shall have power to: (a) receive declarations by public officers made under paragraph 12 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to this Constitution; (b) examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law; (c) retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
On SaharaTV show dedicated to mark Nigeria’s Democracy Day and President Jonathan’s one-year in office, Dr. Abati went on to heap praises on the achievement of President Jonathan.
“Nigeria today is a much more respected country, it continues to show leadership within the international arena,” Dr. Abati told SaharaTV. “A lot of Nigerians, they come up with this assumption, cynical in my opinion if I may say so, that this administration has done nothing, that this administration has failed, they make it seem as if nothing has happened in our lives in the last one year. But in deed a lot has happened in the last one year. This administration has been productive, it has been responsive, and it has worked at all point in the interest of Nigerians.”
The former editorial board chairman of the Guardian newspaper listed the last election as one of the achievements of this administration, describing it as free and fair. “But you know when the phrase is used – free, fair, and credible - it is done in relative terms,” Abati said. “It is not in absolute terms. So there will still be a few cases, but if you compare with what we have in the past, you will see that relatively, you can make that assertion.”
Abati also said the president has begun an anti-terrorist program, which is in the forefront of ensuring security in the country. “But people are still not satisfied,” he lamented. “Perhaps we have not done enough in communicating the administration’s achievement.”
According to Abati, on Democracy Day, the president addressed many of those issues and asked the ministers to give account of what they have done. “The picture that he paints is that of a humble president, giving an honest account of what he has done, in the last 12 months,” he said.
When asked why he has been silent about the Malabu oil case, Abati said to SaharaTV’s Rudolf Okonkwo, “Some of the issues raised were legal issues. And the Attorney General issued a statement, making it very clear that this is a business transaction. Now what I have seen also is a desperate attempt by certain persons to drag President Jonathan into it. Whereas for President Jonathan it is not a personal thing; it is just a business matter as explained by the Attorney General of the federation. But it may get to a stage when the presidency will need to offer further interventions.”
Abati added, “The AG has already offered an explanation about what exactly happened. I don’t have a statement right here with me, but if it becomes necessary, the Attorney General may further clarify the position of the government.”
However, the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku disagreed with the rush to assess President Jonathan’s tenure. Speaking on the same SaharaTV program, Maku urged Nigerians to give President Jonathan more time.

“One year is a short period really to access this government which has a four year mandate,” Maku said. “But I can tell you clearly that in the last one year of his administration, unlike many people in the past, he has a clear agenda. Also there has been a lot of progress in the main sectors of the economy.”
When challenged on the proof of this much touted progress, the former student union activist pushed back on Nigerians who criticizes the government of President Jonathan. “That’s the problem of critic in Nigeria of today,” he told SaharaTV’s Omoyele Sowore. “That is just condemn what is happening without providing alternative platform. I also want people who just criticize, what is the alternative program that people are offering us?”
When pressed on the allegations of corruption swelling around the president, Maku said that President Jonathan’s government is doing everything to check corruption in Nigeria. “Even after Goodluck Jonathan, you are still going to have corruption,” he concluded.

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