₦airaland Forum

http://www.punchng.com/politics/of-buharis-cold-feet-over-asset-declaration/



In this piece,ENIOLA AKINKUOTUlooks atthe refusal of President Muhammadu Buhari to declare his assets publicly in thelight of his anti-corruption crusadePresident Muhammadu Buhari shocked many Nigerians last October when he announced that he took a loan of N27.5m to buy the All Progressives Congress’ expression of interest and nomination forms for the 2014 presidential primary.The act endeared the Katsina-born general to many who saw his stance as a departure from the profligacy which characterised the campaign of some of his opponents. It also gave him an edge over his co-contestants in the party who included the then Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso; a former vice-president, Atiku Abubakar; Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, and the publisher of Leadership newspapers, Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah.While also delivering his speech shortly before delegates voted at the APC presidential primary which held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, in Lagos, last December, Buhari said, “I have always served Nigeria to the best of my ability. I have always tried to give more to the nation than it has given me. This is the principle of service that has guided my public life. Thus, I am not a rich person.“I can’t give you a pocketful of dollars or naira to purchase your support. Even if I could, I would not do so. The fate of this nation is not up for sale. What I will give you and this nation is all of my strength, commitment, sweat and toil in the service of the people. What I can give you is my all.”Buhari maintained that he was the only former Head of State that does not have a house in Abuja despite also being a former petroleum minister and former military governor.This emotional speech inspired many of the delegates at the jam-packed stadium, causing Buhari to win convincingly as the number of votes he garnered surpassed those of others combined. Buhari polled 3,430 votes while Kwankwaso, who came second, scored 974 votes. Former vice-president Abubakar got 954 votes to occupy the third position.In his three months of campaign, posters of ‘Sai Buhari’ and ‘Sai mai Gaskiya’ meaning “an honest person,” and “tested and trusted” adorned major cities in Nigeria.At the climax of the presidential campaign, Buhari stated that he would publicly declare his assets and liabilities, if voted into power.Buhari stated this in a document which highlights what he would do in his first 100 days in office. He said he would encourage political appointees in his administration to also declare their assetspublicly.Buhari, in the document titled, “I pledge to Nigeria,” also said that all his political appointees would only earn salaries and allowances as prescribed by the Revenue and Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission.He said, “I pledge to publicly declare my assets and liabilities, encourage all my appointees to publicity declare their assets and liabilities as a pre-condition forappointment. “All political appointees will only earn the salaries and allowances determined by the RMFAC.”The promise again gave Buhari an electoral boost because the late PresidentUmaru Yar’Adua was the first and the onlyNigerian President to have publicly declared his assets when he assumed office.Buhari’s promise also threatened the chances of the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, who had said during a live media chat that he did not give a damn about public declaration of assets.Jonathan, when asked why he had refused to publicly declare his assets as an example for members of his cabinet, said, “The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven.”However, many Nigerians were shocked when after being inaugurated as the President, Buhari and Vice-President YemiOsinbajo, declared their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau as required by the constitution but failed to make the contents public as promised.The development has even been compounded by the fact that 80 days afterBuhari and Osinbajo took over, they have not commenced the process of having theCCB verify details of their declared assets.The Chairman of the CCB, Sam Saba, said the bureau was prepared to commence the verification of assets declared by the president and the vice-president, but said the CCB was awaiting a convenient time for the two leaders to carry out the exercise.He said a conference verification which involves the examination of the particulars of an asset and the field verification which requires physical validation of a listed property had yet to be done.He said, “For instance, if you say you havethree vehicles, let us see the registration numbers. We don’t have to see all the details. “Once we are able to see the receipts of the purchase of the vehicles orthe registration documents, we are satisfied. But we still have to see them physically and that is the second stage which we call field verification.”The possibility of Buhari declaring his assets publicly might have further dimmed as his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has said Buhari never promised to make his assetspublic. He said rather, it was the APC that made the promise during the campaign.While speaking with a social commentator, Kayode Ogundamisi, duringan interview, Adesina said, “You need to get his words right. Go and check all that the President said during the campaign. Inno place would you see it attributed to him as a person.“But then there is a document by his party,the APC, saying he would declare publicly.So, we need to set that right; it was a declaration by his party. The law requires public officers to declare their assets and he has done that.”Adesina added that after the CCB had verified the assets, Buhari could choose to make it public or not.The Nigerian constitution states in Chapter VI , Section 140, that a person elected to the Office of the President shallnot begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets andliabilities as prescribed in the constitution.Although Buhari has committed no crime by failing to declare his assets publicly, many see it as a betrayal of trust as well as a setback in his ferocious war against corruption.Also, separating the promises Buhari made from those his party made during the electioneering seems to be an ominous sign of what to expect of APC’s promises such as free meals for pupils, allowance for unemployed youths and N5,000 for every poor family.A civil society group, Stop Impunity Nigeria, invoking the Freedom of Information Act, applied to the CCB to request copies of the completed assets declaration forms by Buhari and Osinbajo.However, the CCB declined the request. The CCB cited the absence of a prescribedlaw by the National Assembly authorising the release of such information to the public, thereby making it impossible for anyone to know Buhari’s assets.Responding to the development, the Socio-Economic Right Accountability Project, argued that the declaration beforethe CCB alone fell short of the commitment to publicly declare assets.The group said Buhari’s public declarationof assets would boost his fight against corruption.The Executive Director, SERAP, Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni, said, “SERAP recallsthat the President had said before the election that he would publicly declare hisassets and liabilities, and encourage all his appointees to publicly declare their assets and liabilities as a pre-condition forappointment.“Public disclosure of assets will give the general public a true picture of the assets of the President and the 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 by former President Umaru Yar’Adua, boost this government’s fight against corruptionand impunity.’’SERAP stated that public disclosure of assets provided a baseline and means of assets to identify assets that might have been corruptly acquired and for which a public official might legitimately be asked to account for.SERAP also “urged the President to urgen

True o, he has to declare it PUBLICLY, a promise is a debt!

Sai Buhari

ladyF:
True o, he has to declare it PUBLICLY, a promise is a debt!

Sai Buhari

News like this make me remember Barcanista.

Bubu must declare his assets, lets see how poor billionaire Buhari is.

Mogidi:
ok

News like this make me remember Barcanista. He is vindicated. Always

Wait,,y is he scared sef,,...whats there in declaring ur assets..

saintopus:
News like this make me remember Barcanista. He is vindicated. Always

Barcanista is a political genius, Nairaland's foremost pundit.

segsxpendable:
Wait,,y is he scared sef,,...whats there in declaring ur assets..

My brother if you ask me na who I go ask?

Buhari cannot declare d assest... He is a common thief too... Goat eating yam... GEJ was right after all....

Mogidi:
Barcanista is a political genius, Nairaland's foremost pundit.

His writing prowess is indeed rare. But his analysis surpass his writing ability I will always rate him high on the scale of political analysis.

na wa o!

baralatie:
na wa o!

How you take see matter?

These are the things that make the commity of nations not take Nigeria serious. You rode to power on one powerful selling point HONESTY. The massive support given to you by the 97% is mainly because they see you as a man of Intergrity who will keep his word no matter what.
I remember JEG telling the Nigerian populace I DON'T GIVE A DAMN. Why? Because a question on assests declaration was thrown to him. What happened?
NIGERIANS EQUALLY TOLD HIM "THEY DON'T GIVE A DAMN".
It's not yet late for PMB to do what he promised. Nigerians may be docile but the social media is gradually re-awakening the spirit of activism in Nigerians.
I am neither a PDP or APC apologist.

saintopus:
His writing prowess is indeed rare. But his analysis surpass his writing ability I will always rate him high on the scale of political analysis.

bros passingshot is better than him...he is biased

Which Promise has he kept

1. On Boko Haram He. Said 2 months

2 . He. Said No office for First lady he has appoint Several SSA's for his wife

3. The promise of 20' K MW is now a roadmap

4. On asset declaration he is saying it was the APC and not him that made. The promise

It's simply a Scam

Mogidi:
Bubu must declare his assets, lets see how poor billionaire Buhari is.

ladyF:
True o, he has to declare it PUBLICLY, a promise is a debt!

Sai Buhari

I wish and hope he does.

But you know what? If he doesn't, simply put it on the list of his unfulfilled campaign promises and move on.

At the end of the day (2019), we will evaluate his performance on what he did and what he failed to do in order to decide his fate. End of story.

ochejoseph:
Which Promise has he kept

1. On Boko Haram He. Said 2 months

2 . He. Said No office for First lady he has appoint Several SSA's for his wife

3. The promise of 20' K MW is now a roadmap

4. On asset declaration he is saying it was the APC and not him that made. The promise

It's simply a Scam

The lies that didn't make PDP/GEJ succeed in their quest for reelection won't be enough to return them to power.