President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi
Osinbajo have declared their assets to the Code of Conduct
Bureau as required by the Constitution but failed to make
the contents public.
The head of Buhari’s media team, Garba Shehu, in a
statement on Saturday, said the President and the Vice
President submitted their assets declaration forms
separately on Thursday.
Shehu added that the CCB, through its Chairman, Sam
Saba, on Friday acknowledged the receipt of the forms.
He gave Buhari’s declaration identity number as “President:
000001/2015.”
Shehu, however, did not disclose the contents of the assets
declaration forms.
“By declaring their assets, President Buhari and Vice
President Osinbajo may have not only fulfilled the
requirements of the Nigerian Constitution, but also fulfilled
the first of their many campaign promises.
“While seeking election into the highest office in the land,
the President had promised Nigerians that he would publicly
declare his assets as soon as he took over government,” he
wrote.
The Nigerian Constitution states in Chapter VI Section 140
that a person elected to the Office of the President shall not
begin to perform the functions of that office until he has
declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in the
Constitution.
Though the president’s aide believes the declaration was in
fulfillment of Buhari’s campaign promises, analysts claim
the President has not done anything spectacular because
the contents were not made public.
In February this year, while campaigning Buhari had said
that he would publicly declare his assets and liabilities, if
voted into power.
Buhari stated this in a document. The document highlighted
what Buhari would do in his first 100 days if he assumed
power on May 29.
He said he would encourage political appointees in his
administration to also declare their assets publicly.
Had the new president kept to his words he will be the
country’s second president to publicly declare his assets.
Reacting to the news of the asset declaration by Buhari and
Osinbajo to the Code of Conduct Bureau, the Peoples
Democratic Party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa
Metuh, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the PDP was not ready to
engage the All Progressives Congress-led government on
asset declaration by the two most important persons in the
country or any other issue.
Metuh said, “No comment for now. These are early days.
At the moment, we wish them well.”
The late President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, also from
Katsina State as Buhari, was the first and the only Nigeria’s
President to have publicly declared his assets when he
assumed office.
This action forced his then deputy, Jonathan, to also make
his assets declaration forms available to the public.
However, since he assumed office as the substantive
President, Jonathan had refused to make the forms
available to the public, saying that he did that when he was
serving as deputy to Yar’Adua.
But Buhari, in the document titled, ‘I pledge to Nigeria’ had
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 publicly declare their
assets and liabilities as a pre-condition for appointment. All
political appointees will only earn the salaries and
allowances determined by the RMFAC. I pledge, as
Commander-in-Chief, to lead from the front and not behind
in the comfort and security of Aso Rock, to boost the
morale of fighting forces and the generality of all
Nigerians.”
Meanwhile, about 48hours after they took their oaths of
office, President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo have yet to move into the Presidential Villa,
Abuja, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
Investigation by our correspondent on Saturday showed
that the duo only attended the events held in the Villa on
Friday and returned to town.
While Buhari was suspected to have returned to the Defence
House, the official residence of the President-elect, which
he started using shortly after he won the March 28
presidential election, Osinbajo might have returned to his
private residence.
Immediately after they were inaugurated as President and
Vice President at the Eagle Square on Friday, Buhari and
Osinbajo moved to the Presidential Villa for a state
luncheon organised in honour of world leaders who
attended the inauguration.
They left and later returned in the evening for the
inauguration gala night held inside the villa’s old Banquet
Hall.
“The President and the Vice President have yet to move into
the State House. I learnt that the President returned to
Defence House on Friday,” a source said
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