₦airaland Forum

Senators and members of the House of Representatives will go home with the operational vehicles of the National Assembly currently in their possession as the 7th Assembly winds down on Friday.

Each of the 109 senators has a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, commonly referred to as ‘jeep’, assigned to them for “operational” purposes like carrying out committee and oversight duties.

The story is the same at the House, where each member has a 2011 model Toyota Camry attached to them for operational duties.

Apart from the operational vehicles, principal officers, including the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, have additional vehicles assigned to them.


The Prado jeeps and Camry are properties of the National Assembly that should have ordinarily been left behind by the departing legislators.

But, The PUNCH gathered on Tuesday that, with the understanding of the management of the legislature, the vehicles have been valued, taking note of the years of depreciation, to allow lawmakers who wish to go home with them to do so by paying 30 per cent of the purchase price.

The money is to be deducted from the severance package of the senators and the House members.

Findings showed that in line with the arrangement, the Prado jeeps, valued at the market price of about N9m, would be given away to senators for around N2.7m.

In the same vein, members of the House will each part with about N1.9m to go home with the Camry, valued at N6.5m.

An official of the National Assembly management, who confirmed the “deal” to The PUNCH in Abuja on Tuesday, said, “The cars have been used for four years, so this valuation has taken cognisance of the years of depreciation.

“The vehicles are not taken away free of charge and as a matter of fact, it is optional. A lawmaker who does not want to go with the vehicle will submit it to the National Assembly and it will be so documented.

“The deduction will be done from their severance package at source, which makes it easier.

“It is a practice that has been on over the years.”

Investigations also showed that, aside the operational vehicles, each of the senators, on resumption in 2011, was given 300 per cent of their total basic salaries as car loans and 300 per cent as housing allowance. About 250 per cent was advanced to them as furniture allowance.

Each of the senators, according to investigations, is receiving N1.8m basic salary monthly while the Senate President’s basic salary per month, is N2m.

One of our correspondents learnt that the car loan, which was about N6.5m per senator and N7m for the senate president, was used to buy a brand new Toyota Camry car each.

The amount, according to a senior member of staff of the National Assembly, was deducted from the basic salaries of the senators within two years.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said the arrangement was a departure from the past practice whereby some senators went away with their operational vehicles as parting gifts.

He said, “The loans were obtained for the lawmakers through the banks where their salary accounts are domiciled, hence the bankers usually deduct certain percentage agreed upon from their monthly payments to service the car, housing and furniture loans.”

Attempts to get an official reaction from the Deputy Director of Information at the National Assembly, Mr. Ishaku Dibal, were unsuccessful as calls put through to his mobile telephone did not connect.

However, the Deputy House Majority Leader, Leo Ogor, confirmed that the operational vehicles would be taken away “but certainly not for free.”

Ogor explained that the “normal procedure” was that the vehicles would be evaluated and an agreed sum deducted from the severance package of departing legislators.

“I don’t know what the amount will be; but I know that the cars are not for free. The management of the National Assembly will work it out and communicate to members accordingly”, he stated.

Investigations further revealed that members of the House were also offered the choice of taking home the plasma TV sets in their offices on the condition that they would pay 50 per cent of the purchase price.

The PUNCH learnt that a 40-inch TV set for example, was supplied for a contract sum of N600,000 in 2011. This means a member planning to take it home will pay N300,000 to the management of the legislature.

Another House official however disclosed to The PUNCH that most members of the House turned down the Tv set offer.

“They agreed to take the vehicles but almost all of them rejected the offer of the Tv sets on the grounds that they were too expensive.”

ABUJA — Nigerians who are itching to see the net worth of President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, may need to wait a bit longer, as the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, which keeps custody of the assets declared by the two leaders, says it lacks the power to make them public for now.

Chairman of the CCB, Mr. Sam Sada, who spoke exclusively to Vanguard through his Special Assistant, Mr. Gwimi Sebastian Peter, said only the National Assembly is vested with the powers to decide the terms and conditions under which such documents could be made public.


The chairman said even though the Constitution of Nigerian made it clear that the agency should make available to the citizens the assets declared by public officials, the same law vested the National Assembly with the power to decide the terms and conditions for making such materials public.

Sada explained that the CCB was ready to comply with the terms and conditions specified by the National Assembly on the matter but would only do so once the law was amended.

He said: “While the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act give the bureau powers to receive assets declarations, verify, examine, keep in custody and enforce compliance when there is a breach, the responsibility of determining how and on what terms asset declarations will be made accessible to the public was left to the National Assembly.

“Several National Assemblies have come and gone since the establishment of the CCB without addressing the matter.”

Lacuna in FOI Act

When his attention was drawn to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, which makes it compulsory for the CCB to make available to media houses and other interested Nigerians the assets of public officers, the chairman said the FOI Act could not override the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

He said that there was a lacuna in the FOI Act, which makes it difficult for the bureau to make public the assets declared by public figures.

Regarding what Buhari and his vice submitted to the agency, the chairman said while it was rather too early for Nigerians to ask the President and his vice to make public their assets, it was necessary for them to exercise some patience and see what the two leaders would do after having voluntarily filed their assets with the CCB.

What the constitution says

Sub-section 3c of Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution actually takes away the right it intended to give to the CCB to publicly display the assets of public officers by stipulating that only the NASS can decide the terms and conditions for making such assets public.

The section is yet to be repealed many years after it was made.

The same section also seems to have rendered impotent Section 4 of the FoI Act 2011, which states: “A public institution shall ensure that information referred to in this section is widely disseminated and made readily available to members of the public through various means, including print, electronic and online sources, and at the offices of such public institutions.”

Buhari and Osinbajo had last week secretly filed their assets with the CCB, thereby reneging on the pledge by the President to publicly declare his assets if elected into office.

But some aides of the President argued last night that Buhari might make a public declaration of his assets as his administration takes shape in the days to come.

They argued that the declaration of their assets by the two men was to demonstrate their determination to break away with the opaqueness that had attended government activities in the past and pave the way for change.

LAGOS—Aides of President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, explained why the president did not declare his assets publicly. They said he will make his assets known to Nigerians within the first 100 days of his stay in power in line with his assertions before the election.

Meanwhile, there were mixed reactions, yesterday, on the report that the president and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo had submitted their assets declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau without immediately making them public.

A civil rights group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, argued that it was imperative for the duo to make public their assets. It said the action will indicate “their desire and commitment to ending corruption in the country.”

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, on its part, said it would allow Buhari to settle down for governance before taking him to task on his campaign promises.

However, some notable Nigerians disagreed over call for the public declaration of assets by the president and his vice president.

Among those who expressed divergent views were constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN; Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN; rights crusader, Mr Femi Falana, SAN; Mr Kayode Ajulo; Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed and rights activist, Mr Mohammed Fawehinmi.

A close associate of the president, however, debunked criticisms on the issue saying, yesterday, that the president still has 97 days within which to make his assets public as he promised during the campaigns.

President Buhari had in a document on his plan of action within the first 100 days of assumption of office as president promised to make his assets declaration public and influence his appointees to do the same.

“In the document the president said what he would do within the first 100 days and among them was that he would declare his assets publicly in the first 100 days. How many hours has he been in office? How many days after his inauguration?

“I think that the president should be given the benefit of the doubt. It is only three days since he came to office. Does he not deserve the benefit of the balance of the 96 remaining days? I think he deserves commendations”, the source close to the president said on the basis of anonymity.

He should declare assets publicly now— SERAP

Reacting to the development, yesterday, SERAP, in a statement by its Executive Director, Mr Tokunbo Mumuni, said: “We recall that the President had said before the election that he would publicly declare his assets and liabilities, and encourage all his appointees to publicly declare their assets and liabilities as a pre-condition for appointment. We now expect the President to fulfil this promise to the Nigerian people. SERAP trusts that the President and Vice President will move swiftly to publicly declare their assets and to publish widely the information on a dedicated website.

“Public disclosure of assets will give the general public a true picture of the assets of the President and Vice President and will send a powerful message that it is not going to be business as usual with this government. This will also follow the best practice set by former President Umaru Yar’Adua, boost this government’s fight against corruption and impunity of perpetrators, and fully comply with the provisions of chapter two of the dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which among others require the government to take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power”, SERAP stated.

We’ll answer him later —PDP

In its reaction, the PDP said that it would respond to the issue in due season. Speaking with Vanguard, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh said that the party would allow Buhari settle down for governance, and then come up with very strong opposition.

Metuh said: “We will allow President Muhammadu Buhari to settle down and address the promises made to Nigerians; we will talk on asset declaration later.”

That is where credibility starts—Sagay

Constitutional lawyer, Professor Itse Sagay, SAN, said it was compulsory for the president and his vice to declare their assets publicly saying, “that is where credibility starts”.

Sagay said: “I have no doubt that he will make it public because that is where credibility starts. That is where Jonathan started losing credibility. The late Umar Yar’Adua forced him to declare his assets in 2007, reluctantly, he did it. But when he was his own man, he said he does not give a damn and that is where he started sliding down. So, Buhari has no choice, it is absolute for himself and Osinbajo if change and credibility are going to be sustained. There is no other way out, so I expect in the next 24 hours or so that we would know what their assets are. He should apply it to every other appointee of his regime, not just himself and Osinbajo, it is compulsory and absolute.”

President and his vice didn’t err—Ngige

Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, argued that the president and his vice did not err in the declaration of their assets. Ngige said: “There is nothing wrong in what the President and his vice have done. Anyone who is not satisfied with that should go to the Code of Conduct Bureau to get the information they need on the declaration. If the Code of Conduct refuses, they can invoke the Freedom of Information Act. When President Yar’Adua did his declaration, he asked the code of conduct to make it public.

“Yar’Adua did not make his declaration public. People should desist from making noise about it because the President and his vice did the right thing. Getting information about the contents of the declaration should be done accordingly through the code of conduct and if it refuses, people can approach the court and the court can order the code of conduct to make it public.”

Let’s wait for the 100 days—Falana

On his part, rights crusader, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, opined that “these men just took oath of office two days ago and they declared their assets officially as required by law which stipulates 90 days. Meanwhile, they’ve promised to declare their assets publicly within 100 days. I hope it is better we wait for the 100 days.”

The courts should decide—Ajulo

A lawyer, Mr Kayode Ajulo said the courts should be allowed to make a pronouncement on the matter. Ajulo said: “All I know is that we Nigerians just want to be intellectually lazy. It is so clear that Buhari declared his assets, there is no fuzz about anyone declaring his assets or not. When it comes to the declaration of assets under Code of Conduct law, you have to swear to an affidavit, that affidavit is pursuant to an old act, it is called the law of federation. In that act, any oath you are making in Nigeria, it is a public declaration.

Buhari should not be stampeded— Mohammed

Second Republic lawmaker, Dr. Junaid Mohammed maintained that Nigerians should not blackmail or stampede President Buhari into declaring his assets publicly.

His words: “Nigerians must learn to live by what our rules and regulations say when issues like this come up. No democracy without rule of law and Buhari has done what he is supposed to do within the confines of the law”.

Mohammed added that “without sounding irrational, I can personally state everything owned by Buhari. We have to be realistic and it is sheer nonsense when you are trying to tell a man what he already knows or what he is supposed to do. But no one should stampede him in publicly doing it the Yar’Adua way. I don’t mind him declaring publicly but I will oppose anybody trying to stampede him into doing what our law clearly states which he had already done”.

Code of Conduct should make it public—Fawehinmi

IN his remarks, rights activist, Mr Mohammed Fawehinmi, said it was the duty of the Code of Conduct Bureau to make the declaration public.

Fawehinmi said: “They have done what is required by law by declaring their assets officially; it is now the duty of the Code of Conduct to make it open or published it. However, it becomes an obligation on Buhari and Osinbajo to publish their assets publicly as contained in their electoral promises. This will be the beginning of the fulfilment of their promises to Nigerians.”

Human rights activist, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Mike Ozekhome in his reaction, urged Buhari to declare his assets publicly in conformity with his campaign promises of breaking away from the old order. Ozekhome in a telephone chat with Vanguard in Abuja reminded Buhari that Nigerians now have a long memory and would watch him closely.

He said: “I think President Buhari should realize that all the promises he made with his party, the APC constitute a check list that Nigerians are keeping closely with a biro at hand ready to tick either performed or not performed. I wouldn’t want to believe that some of the promises he made were empty words customized to get votes from Nigerians and then refrains from them later.