A civil society organisation, the
Secio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, said the public declaration
of assets by President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President, Prof. Yemi
Osinbajo, has set the tone for a culture of transparency in governance.
The group, in a statement on
Thursday by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, lauded Buhari and
Osinbajo for the gesture, saying they had demonstrated that transparency in
governance is not a mirage.
It expressed the hope that this
public declaration of assets by the President and the Vice President would
bring about the needed transformation in the institutional framework for
fighting corruption in Nigeria.
It however urged them to ensure that
other top government officials and the ministers to be appointment take a cue
from them.
The statement read, “Today’s
publication of asset declarations by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice
President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, turns the page on transparency and
accountability in Nigeria.
“Compared to former President
Goodluck Jonathan who notoriously failed to publish his asset declaration
despite repeated demands by Nigerians, both Buhari and Osinbajo have shown by
publicly declaring their assets that transparency doesn’t take years to
achieve.
“Nigerians will now be able to use the assets
published as a baseline for comparison at the end of the term of this
government.
“SERAP urges the Buhari government
to also publish asset declarations of their senior officials and ministers once
appointed.”
“SERAP hopes that this publication
of asset declarations will translate into real reform of the legal and
institutional frameworks established to fight corruption and good governance as
well as greater respect for human rights including socio-economic rights of
Nigerians such as the rights to food, to health, to education and to adequate
housing, and thus improve quality of life for ordinary citizens.
“We also urge President Buhari to
urgently take measures to seek amendment of the law relating to declaration of
assets to include the requirement of public disclosure so as to bring it in
line with international standards and best practices such as the UN Convention
against Corruption.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the
President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had in a statement on Thursday,
made public the details of the assets declared by Buhari and Osinbajo to the
Code of Conduct Bureau.
According a statement, the President
had about N30m in his only bank account with the Union Bank Plc, while the Vice
President had a balance of N94m, $900,000 and £19,000 in his bank accounts.
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