₦airaland Forum

Mixed reactions have continued to trail President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s public declaration of their assets.

A statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu, had on Thursday disclosed part of the contents of the assets declaration forms separately submitted by Buhari and Osinbajo to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Shehu said in the statement that the verification of the President’s and the Vice President’s assets was ongoing and that the forms would be released to the public after the CCB’s verification.

Based on the statement, Buhari’s assets include about N30m in his only bank account with the Union Bank Plc and a total of seven houses, comprising two mud and a standard house in Daura, his hometown; two homes in Kaduna, one in Kano and one in Abuja.

The President’s assets also include two undeveloped plots of land in Kano and Port Harcourt, an orchard and a ranch in Daura with 270 head of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses, a variety of birds and a number of economic trees.

According to the statement, Buhari also has several cars, two of which he said were bought with his savings, while the others were supplied to him by the Federal Government in his capacity as a former Head of State.

However, the declaration has been trailed by diverse reactions, with some Nigerians raising questions over the value of the President’s assets, which were considered as vague in the document.

For instance, analysts say they have been unable to draw comparisons between the President’s action and that of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua, the first Nigerian President to publicly declare his assets.

Yar’Adua on June 28, 2007, a month after his inauguration, made public photocopies of his completed assets declaration form as submitted to the CCB.

The document detailed Yar’Adua’s assets, valued at N856, 452,892, with a total annual income that was put at N18.7m.

In the document, Yar’Adua declared the values of all his assets.

A breakdown of the assets declaration showed that Yar’Adua had a total of N43, 702, 892.43 as cash in his bank accounts, with other assets contributing for the rest.

Among his detailed declaration of assets, Yar’Adua listed his family compound in Katsina State, which he described as an inheritance. He valued it at N105m.

There were also a multi-storey building at A8 Wuse 2, Abuja and a duplex at Malali, Kaduna State, valued at N212m and N120m, respectively.

He also disclosed that he had a seven-bedroom duplex at 2, Lema Jubril Close, valued at N90m, which he said was built from savings in 1987 and a vacant plot at Asokoro New Layout in Abuja, valued at N50m.

Yar’Adua also said that he had 2,000,000 units of shares of Habib Bank acquired in 1998; 100,000 units of shares of Intercity Bank Plc; and another 100,000 units of shares of Muradi Hotels Limited.

He also disclosed that he had vehicles worth N181,250,000, consisting of 29 new cars worth N174,700,000 in both Katsina and Abuja, which he described as campaign vehicles, a Honda Accord car worth N350,000 and a Mercedes Benz worth another N6,500,000.

In addition, Yar’Adua disclosed that his wife, Turai, had a total asset of N19m, made up of houses. He stated the value of each of the houses.

Considering Yar’Adua’s declaration of assets, analysts have described Buhari’s recent version as a clear departure from a full declaration of assets.

They labelled the declaration of assets as done by Buhari as having too many holes, saying Buhari should have specified the total number of his cars rather than stating that he has several cars, two of which he said were bought from his savings.

Shehu’s statement had claimed that the President had shares in Berger Paints, Skye Bank and Union Bank .

But analysts said Buhari should have stated the value of each of his houses, describing his declaration of having ‘two homes’ as deceptive since many houses can constitute a home.

While Yar’Adua declared the number of shares he had in companies, Buhari’s declaration also failed to disclose that.

Meanwhile, in December 2014, Buhari in a Facebook post insinuated that he had about N1m in his account, about 150 of cattle and houses in Kaduna, Kano and Daura. But there was no mention of any property in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory.

He had said, “I have at least one million naira in my bank, having paid N5.5m to pick my form from my party.

“I have around 150 (head of) cattle because I am never comfortable without cows.

“I have a house each in Kaduna, Kano, and Daura, which I borrowed money to build.

“I never had a foreign account since I finished my courses in the USA, India and the UK.

“I never owned any property outside Nigeria. Never!”

Some analysts said Buhari did not explain how his 150 head of cattle and about N1m in December 2014 multiplied to 270 head of cattle and N30m less than a year later, respectively, especially as Buhari had said that he had to borrow the N27m he needed to purchase his presidential form from his party, the All Progressives Congress.

Reacting to the declaration of assets by Buhari and Osinbajo, a lawyer, Carol Ajie, said the documents had loopholes.

Ajie said Buhari and his deputy needed to “make clear if they have liabilities or not, bearing in mind that the constitution places emphasis on assets and liabilities.”

The lawyer said, “We need a bit more on specificity on some of the items such as shares in Berger Paints, Union Bank and Skye Bank, considering the length of time between April when he won the election and now, a period of six months for assets valuation of his seven houses located in Daura, Kano, Kaduna and Abuja.

“We have no addresses on these houses and what type of houses-bungalow, block of flats or duplexes- and estate valuer’s estimates. Same for his farms, orchard and a ranch in Daura, etc.”

Another legal practitioner, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, said the President had yet to complete the declaration “as it is the law that his spouse is not a civil servant; the spouse must declare her assets in the same manner as done by President Buhari.

“The same goes for his deputy. As it is, there may be likelihood of violation of the law on declaration of assets,” he added.

A civil rights lawyer, Ebun Adegboruwa, who described Buhari’s assets declaration as belated, also faulted the President for failing to disclose the worth of the property and stocks he listed as belonging to him.

He said, “He should have let us know the worth of those assets, especially the ones in Abuja. So without knowing the worth, we cannot estimate what the President has. The information supplied to the public by the President is so scanty, as to totally amount to hoarding vital details of his assets.

“For the assets declaration to make any meaningful impact, it should have been declared voluntarily and without any prompting upon the President by Nigerians. The implication of this is that the President was forced to declare his assets.

“Secondly, the assets declaration is coming after Nigerians, through their most diligent efforts, have already uncovered most of the President’s ‘secret assets’, especially the house in Abuja. By now, most of the contents of the President’s assets declaration document are already in the public domain.”

The lawyer also called on the President to make the assets of his adult children known to the public.

He said, “The Code of Conduct Bureau and the constitution require that it is not just the assets of the President that should be declared, the assets of all his grown-up children should also be disclosed.

“Is he hiding his assets through his children because there are many of them that are grown up? In Nigeria, you suddenly discover that children who are 18 years of age have houses in London, United Kingdom or Maitama and Asokoro in Abuja.”

Another lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, who commended the President for his public declaration of assets, also joined his voice with those callingfor a more detailed declaration.

He said, “I commend the President and the Vice President for what they have done.

“Moving forward, our expectation is that now that we have a summation of this asset declaration, number of houses is disclosed, the account is disclosed and the credit in the account is disclosed.

“We hope that when the verification is concluded and that will not be too long, further details and particulars would be furnished to the Nigerian people.

“Those who are calling for fuller disclosure are not calling for something extraordinary or that ought not to be done, so I join those who are calling for fuller disclosure even as I commend this summary of disclosure.”

However, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Emeka Ngige, dismissed claims by some of the analysts, saying that the task of valuating the listed property should be left to the CCB.

He said, “I think the actions of the President and the Vice-President have sent positive signals on governance. The policy should now be extended to all political office holders appointed by the administration.”

Another civil rights lawyer, Liborous Oshoma, described the criticisms trailing the asset declaration in some quarters as “sentimental.”

He said, “For me, the essence of this is to open a new struggle for us, a new fight, a new demand of accountability. It is not necessarily about the worth of what was declared, but the fact that the assets were declared.

“The man has said he owns so and so, anybody who wants to question that can begin to conduct investigations into what he said he owns. It is not much about the worth of the houses and it has not been established that the houses were acquired with stolen funds because that is when we can begin to calculate the worth.”

Meanwhile, the Code of Conduct Bureau on Friday said it had begun the verification of the assets declared by President and his deputy.

The CCB, through its Head of Press and Protocol Unit, Mrs. Iyabo Akinwale, confirmed to our correspondent that the verification of their assets had commenced.




http://www.punchng.com/news/mixed-reactions-trail-buharis-assets-declaration/

handie:
This talkative still dey exist? He never sponsor any bill o. He hasn't been able to convince his colleagues to stop all their endless recesses o. It's not just about talking up brilliant ideas Mr. Ben Murray Bruce.... You gotta walk your talk

And u think it will sail tru

Oduduwaboy:
hmmm...for how many people? at what interest rate? over how many years? The rate cant be less than 29% anyway. Fayose is just making a mockery of governance & the ignorants keep applauding him. An end must be put to all these acts of tokenism in governance. mtchewww!

Unlike aregbe

The definition of good governance

Jaideyone:
lmao see people celebrating mediocrity. what percentage of the teachers in the state can get something tangible from this 144m loan? what has fayose done in Ekiti that some people are pushing for his presidency? these ibo fayose fans will do anything to spite tinubu. bunch of clowns

Keep on ranting

Hw many state can do this
Not to talk of a state lyk Ekiti with lesser financial status

An let me cure Ur ignorance not everybody do apply for car loan

Goke7:
No wonder he was so vexed with the late comers, Fayose be like see people wey I wan give loan o lol.

Fayose cracking me up sha, Ekiti, I envy una comedian Governor o!

Anyway second term things which is very good for competition

He's on 2nd term

Ekiti State Government has disbursed about N144m as vehicle and housing loans to 712 teaching and non-teaching staff in the state’s teaching service.


The Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Chief Toyin Ojo, who made this known in Ado Ekiti, said N63m of the sum was disbursed as car loans to 257 teaching and non-teaching staff, based on their grade levels.


The Ministry of Information said the vehicle loans ranged from N250,000 to N1m for teachers on grade level 7 to 16; while junior non-teaching staff from grade level 1 to 6 received N70,000 each.


Ojo added that the balance of N81m of the amount was disbursed as first and second tranches of staff housing loans to 455 teaching and non-teaching staff.


Ojo noted that last month, Governor Ayo Fayose approved the disbursement of N119m as car loans to 623 workers in the public service, despite the prevailing paucity of fund in the state. He said the gesture would reduce the burden of obtaining bank loans, with the attendant high interest rates.


He charged the teachers to reciprocate government’s intervention by discharging their duties conscientiously



http://ekitistate.gov.ng/2015/09/ekiti-teachers-get-n144m-vehicle-housing-loans/

whizpet:
FAYOSE and his Deceits
what has he done to Ado town? are there any agenda 4 d good
people of ekiti state? how can the old women and men survive in the
state? are there any infrastructures down for any emergencies? is he
still going to be eating "BOLI" and "GROUNDNUTS" in the markets with
people and 4gt his promises? the so called stomach infrastructures, is it still functioning? are we going to point to any
achievements in every 2 months? are there any jobs down for the
graduates in the state? in what differences has this Government
change to the former? are we still going to embark on the roads and
so more projects the later has done? this and more are questions to
be answered. Ekiti people should just wise up # IrefusedToBeDeceived .

Keep gnashing ur teeth on behalf of ekiti pple

chukwudi44:
Can you imagine!! Doing that in someone else's land even as a refugee. These european nations had better review their laws about receiving this savages fleeing the middle east

As in
I wonder oo
If yoruba Muslims are actually following Allah principle
U rarely u can't even see them go violent

These pple are mofos they should send them back to where they will be killed in Allah's name
Bunch of irritants

Mynd44:
Exactly. A lot of people actually voted President Jonathan out instead if President Buhari in.

But all these brouhaha over promises would not arise of the media team had not started denying things. Instead of denying then, they could have just said they are doing the best they can to meet the expectations of Nigerians in the face of huge economic mis-governance by the previous administration. They can further state what they have done and say they will do more.

This denial just gives time and space for a free for all.

So ur brain could be this functional

Mehn shiit just got real

obynocute:
Who re we to blame for dat??

Na Jonathan nw

olafum1:
Smh.. What of my area in Akure with no power for the past 5months??

Haha my own na 3 days ooo

odinese:
U call this project?
I think u are crazy!

Its nw what?
Mr normal somebody


Continue to gnash your teeth on behalf of etiki

muhammed10:
This fayose and market, the man must be a food lover..idiot man! his mate are busy transforming the whole state ..while Mr fayose is busy transforming his market where he will come and buy kpomo ...mtewww

See idiot
Roads
Channelization is also ongoing

azzima:
This guy is the smartest Governor in Nigeria. He knows how to play the gallery and some fools believe it "hook and sinker". Today he buys palm oil even though he eats Salmon in Government house,tomorrow he drives a tipper even though he drives Range rovers and Mercedes. It doesn't take all these showmanship to show your performance. Nigerians surely deserve what they get because of their ignorance and naivete.

Haters must hate

At least projects is ongoing in ekiti

U can keep gnashing ur teeth on behalf of ekiti ketes

dammytosh:
LOL.

The question we fail to ask is ?


What exactly is he doing ?

What project is this ?

That foundation is a simple foundation for a small building ?

Look at the houses around ?

Ekiti houses plenty Profs. As much as i like his grassroot politics approach, Fayose is bringing the state to ridicule.

Looks as if The Executive State Governor bumped on a site construction work and decide to take selfie but peeps are too blind to see that what he is doing has nothing to do with Governance.

We deserve the kind of leaders we get.

U have problems

A man well loved with always attrack crowd

He can inspect wenever he likes or is it when d damage is done he should nw be inspecting


He's doing projects
So taking pics with his pple now ridiculing d state and governance

MadCow1:
I wonder how calm he would be in Kirikiri Maximum when OsisiKankwu, Ade Bendel and a host of hardened criminals are AssRaping him in the Showers..


#SaiBuhari..


I dey pity all the Ministers and Appointees of Buhari government should the APC fail to win 2019 elections and PDP returns to power.. Even those wey carry their government I.D card go house by mistake would be arrested..

Lolzz

U gat me laffing

Abugab:
Unperturbed ke?
Dude is wailing inside as his beards have become whiter.
Let's see how he goes with this?

So his beard should become darker
Keep fooling ursef

pleiades45:
he looks stressed and scared. the man never sleep since them done put case on am

Lol
U just decide to fool ursef

Keep it up

AngryNigerian:
He's checking d Stock Market section...


I de laff

To check if money don sure
Lol

aresa:
Nigerians are moving forward to better things and supporting their own, but you disgruntled village losers are still spewing rubbish, anger and bitterness...


This disease den dash you people must be everlasting...

Really

After damaging his hard work because of north must return to power?

He should stop fooling around

Adeshina knw who truly appreciate him and his hardwork

Tambuwal and other eye service mofos should fvck off

realmike44:
If some of you think that buhari not appointing ministers is a failure, then you consider this facts 1. Working of some refineries without a petroleum minister 2. Improvement in power sector without a power minister 3. Recovering of looted fund in US and other countries without the help of any minister in charge of that duty

Which refinery is working

D power is trying to corner is not even his achievement itz just 1 of d assests he inherited

Recovering loot?
On pages of newspapers

Demdem:
It was very foolish of APC to have disown a document that was brandished from them during the elections. What would it have taken them to apologise to Nigerians for the delay in implementation and attributing to the mis-governance and thievery of past government headed by jonah-daft. All sane minds knows that jonah-daft destroyed this country and it will take far more time than earlier envisaged to stabilize things which is the obvious truth. Again, APC was so so foolish.
However, am pleased with the Generals performance so far. The promises may be delayed but am optimistic that it will come to past.

Demdem is back
Doing what he knows how to do best


Epitomizing stupidity

Toks2008:
Why are you freaking wasting your time trying to make people whio are used and have decided to remain in darkness see reason in a beam of light?

Please let the wailing wailers continue.

Before i make my deductions, i will wait for 2 full calendar years.

In 6 good years Jonathan did absolutely nada and now our disillusioned Nigerians are wailing and expecting magic in just 100days of office.

Iranu

As for lai Mohamed i guess that guy should be sacked and let someone else take the position because i don't see why he is trying to polish the issue. If i were in his position i will bluntly let Nigerians understand that YES WE MADE THE PROMISE and apologize that we never knew the rot we will meet and we will try our best to ensure we deliver on our promises regardless of the empty treasury we met and the unprecedented and UN-envisaged rot in the system as a result of bad governance of PDP for 16 long years.

Yeye dey smell

Passingshot and light

How daft can people be


Lol

ORACLE1975:
Those who are judging a government achievements in 100 days should first look at the challenges the govt have faced since coming into power and what it has been able to put in place.
Any house built on false foundation can never stand.Buhari meant well for Nigeria and we should give him the chance to get things right.
patience is in short supply in Nigeria.we want miracles.
Take it or leave Buhari is the best alternative we have to the PDP govt.

If u are telling me buhari has achieved more than Jonathan as stated baby liar mohammed and other APC supporters
Then why should big not be critical of him

PassingShot:
Fact 1: Electricity was appalling during GEJ.

Fact 2: Refineries were in comatose during GEJ.

I wonder why Jonathan preferred those two didn't work during his time.

Safe the preaching!

Mehn
How did u sustain simulteonously wirh this ur clannishness

free2ryhme:
The write-ups are not for d real masses. They are d voices of d PDP and d gullible! We are not ready to go back to Egypt, we are not going back to d vampires that sucked us dry. God is on your side Buhari to clean up d evil people's mess. U shall prevail

Lol
U daft no be here

So those pple are not masses but alien?

PassingShot:
Wrong for APC to deny the 100 day in office promise.

However, Nigeria is already witnessing unprecedented change in some key areas that matter:
1. Electricity has improved despite that the Otuoke man promised us to expect better supply by March 2016.

2. Blocking of wastages and loopholes have resulted in increase in our foreign reserves despite that GEJ/PDP practically emptied same. They met it at $47.7bn, sold crude at average of $100 per barrel and still found a way to reduce the reserve to just $29bn. Incredulous!

3. Better accountability with income has resulted in increase in allocation to the three tiers of govts despite reduced income from crude sale.

4. The fight has been taken to the Boko terrorists unlike the other way round in the past.

5. Our image has experienced a positive outlook and no Ghana Prof or Kenyans can dare insult our dear country.

6, Stealing is NOW corruption and everybody seems to be keying in.

7. Some refineries have started working since July as against the 2016 promised by PDP

8. NNPC is being restructured so that it returns to profitability very soon.

No regrets supporting PMB/VPYO. Let wailers wail for it's their destiny to do so.

Chowderhead

rozayx5:
cc: altwireless firefire mizmycoli sincere9gerian hzrf anonimi

After making list of unachievable promises

To go straight with Nigeria that u can't fulfill is nw a gigantic work


Thank God I nd many Yorubas didn't fall for the scam