Corruption: Buhari goes tough on public officers’ asset declaration

There are strong indications that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has directed all Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies to ensure that their members of staff comply with the law on asset declaration.

Saturday PUNCH learnt on Friday that with the presidential directive, all public office holders are required to declare their assets.
It was learnt that the Federal Government was determined to take the issue of asset declaration seriously as part of the moves to fight corruption.

Findings showed that the order must have informed the directive by the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Customs Service that their officers should declare their assets.
A senior government official, who confided in Saturday PUNCH, said that the administration would not only ensure that public office holders declared their assets, anti-graft agencies would monitor their incomes and the wealth they had acquired.
He added that the law on asset declaration does not only apply to politicians holding public offices, but also civil servants.
The source said, “The government has directed that all public officers must declare their assets. Some people wrongly believe that asset declaration only applies to politicians. Civil servants are also required to declare their assets; that is what the law says. But the law does not require them to make public assets they have declared.
“There are many civil servants with many mansions in Abuja. Anti-graft agencies will now be matching their incomes with their wealth.”
In what was seen as a novel step, the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Colonel Sani Kukasheka, had, in a statement on Thursday, said that the Chief of Army Staff, Lt- Gen. Tukur Buratai, had directed all officers of the Nigerian Army to declare their assets.
He added that Buratai had declared his assets on his appointment as Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force in May 2015 and when he was appointed as Chief of Army Staff in July 2015.
Kukasheka had said, “This directive is in order, considering the fact that all military officers are having Presidential Commission and are public servants, as well as subject to both civil and military laws. In addition, given the current drive of the country for probity and accountability, the Nigerian Army should not only key in but should be one of the key drivers for such a laudable project.”
The Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr. Sam Saba, had in an interview with Saturday PUNCH last year, expressed concern that most military personnel had not been declaring their assets.
He had stated, “Some of the military personnel declare but most of them are not declaring (theirs). They used to declare (their assets) in the early 90s but somehow, they just stopped. Only some of them who are service chiefs declare, but the remaining ones do not fill the forms.”
The Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), had on January 15, directed all officers of the service to declare their assets within two weeks. The Nigeria Immigration Service on its part, had on Thursday, said that its personnel had taken asset declaration seriously.
The NIS Public Relations Officer, Ekpedeme King, stated that every immigration officer adhered to the CCB requirement for civil servants to declare their assets in their forms.
He said that officers of the service declare their assets periodically in line with the Code of Conduct for public officials
He said, “We don’t need to issue fresh directives to our personnel to declare their assets because they have been doing that periodically. This is in line with the Code of Conduct for public officials and it is compulsory for all revenue generating agencies of the government.”
Assets declaration: Police keep mum
The Nigeria Police Force has yet to respond to inquiries about asset declaration by its personnel, a code of conduct requirement for public officials.
The authorities of the military and the Nigeria Customs Service had directed their personnel to declare their assets as part of efforts to sanitise the polity and as required by law.
Saturday PUNCH had asked the Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, if police operatives had been declaring their assets as required by the law and if not, whether the management would direct police personnel to declare their assets.
She promised to get back to our correspondent, but she had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report at 8pm on Friday.
But the source, who confided in Saturday PUNCH, said the present administration would not take the issue of asset declaration as a mere formality.
He said, “From now on, the asset declaration forms will not be filled and dumped somewhere. Anti-graft agencies will do their work by monitoring those who have acquired illegal wealth.”
He said that based on the Part II of the Fifth Schedule of the constitution, civil servants were also required to declare their assets. According to the Fifth Schedule, besides the President, the Vice-President, governors and their deputies, others required to declare their assets include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil service, Permanent Secretaries, Directors Generals and all other persons in the civil service of the federation or of the state.
Public officers must abide by the law – Presidency
When contacted, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, said, “If it is the law, it should be complied with.”
The presidential aide was responding to a question on whether the recent directives by some agencies that their staff should declare their assets were part of the renewed efforts of the administration to fight corruption was a directive by the President.
TMG backs govt
Various civil rights groups on Friday urged the government to sustain its war against corruption.
The spokesperson for Transition Monitoring Group, Armsfree Ajanaku, said that the group supported the government’s efforts on asset declaration.
He stated, “This is a clear message to public servants that the era of state-sanctioned criminal conversion of public funds for private use is over. For us, this move validates our long held position that radical steps should be taken to slay the monster of corruption in our country. We call on the President to stay the course.
“The President should ignore all distracting narratives that seek to undo the war against corruption. The administration’s anti-corruption strategy should explore strong partnerships with credible civic organisations to help take the war against graft to the grassroots. All those who handcuffed the nation’s destiny through treasury looting must face the music.”
Also a lawyer and former National Secretary of the Labour Party, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said, “Corruption is a cankerworm that must be dealt with in our system. Any government that fails to address the issue of corruption does not deserve to be taken seriously by the people. To wage war against corruption, transparency is the key and this starts with declaration of assets.”
On her part, a lawyer and human rights activist, Carol Ajie, described corruption as capable of destroying a nation, its workforce and reducing its productivity.
The spokesman for the Yoruba socio-political group, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, noted that many civil servants had been breaching the law on asset declaration.
He stated, “The laws are there that every civil servant should declare their assets, but like everything in Nigeria, it is observed in the breach. These people have gone too deep in the cesspool to be caught with such cheap order.
“How many of them would be stupid to acquire things in their names? The thieves the government wants to catch are smarter than it and are always ahead of it.”
PUNCH