When the former director general of the Labour Party presidential campaign council, Doyin Okupe, was convicted on money laundering charges, we reported it. We explained why money laundering is a big deal.
When the now president-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was making waves on Twitter over asset forfeiture reports in the US, we explained in our newsletter what asset forfeiture means.
President Muhammadu Buhari and his VP, Yemi Osinbajo, are counting the days till they leave office. The code of conduct bureau (CCB) has announced that they should prepare to declare their assets after almost eight years in office. And it’s not just them; outgoing governors and ministers too. As before, we’ll explain asset declaration and why it’s crucial.
[Buhari (R) and Osinbajo / Premium Times]
What is asset declaration?
Asset declaration, as the name suggests, is the disclosure of all assets owned by publicly elected officials and government officials at all tiers to a body mandated by law to do so.
Why is asset declaration necessary?
According to Transparency International, an NGO dedicated to fighting corruption globally, asset declaration serves two primary purposes:
- It guards against the accumulation of illicit wealth. This is achieved by allowing oversight of the financial activities of politicians and senior public officials;
- To monitor and prevent conflicts of interest. Decision-making by officials, which should serve the public interest, can be undermined by several factors. They include secondary employment, the ownership of shareholdings or the receipt of gifts and hospitality.
Which body is in charge of asset declaration in Nigeria?
The CCB was created in 1979 and was empowered by the 1979 Constitution. It provided a code of conduct for publicly elected officials to follow. The Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Chapter 58 LFN 1990, gave the CCB the power to establish and maintain a high standard of public morality for government officials.
Then in 1999, General Abdusalami Abubakar’s Administration enshrined it in Section 153, Third Schedule, Part 1 and Fifth Schedule, Part 1 of the Nigerian Constitution.
What is the process of asset declaration?
According to the Constitution, all public officers must declare their assets and liabilities when they resume office and end their tenure.
[Buhari receives asset declaration form from Chairman of (CCB), Prof. Muhammad Isah / Twitter]
- The CCB has a form, and all public officers, whether elected, appointed, recruited, contracted, or by whatever name called, are mandated to collect and sign the form. They can pick it from the CCB office in any of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
- Within 30 days of receiving the form, you must honestly declare your assets and liabilities, including that of your spouse (if married), who is not a public officer and children under 18.
- Only assets and liabilities you own at the time of resuming office are required of you to declare, not those you anticipate. Doing otherwise constitutes an illegal act.
- Properties owned outside of Nigeria must also be stated in the form and their values in their respective currencies. Then you go before a high court judge to swear your declaration.
- Public officials elected into office must declare when they resume office and when they leave. Those under government employment must declare their assets every four years. The CCB has the responsibility of verifying those assets.
Have there been any famous examples of assets declared publicly in the past?
Public officials are not required by law to disclose their assets publicly. They’re only to do so to the CCB. Public disclosure is a matter of choice.
In 2007, fulfilling a campaign promise, former president Umaru Yar’Adua became the first Nigerian president to publicly declare his assets and liabilities. At the time, his total assets were worth ₦856, 452,892. These include a total of ₦19 million owned by his wife, Turai. His total liabilities were ₦88,793,269.77.
[President Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan / Premium Times]
However, President Goodluck Jonathan, who came after Yar’Adua, refused to declare his assets publicly. His reason was that it went against his principles.
President Buhari and his VP, who came into power on the wave of an anti-corruption campaign, disclosed their assets publicly. Buhari claimed to have around ₦30 million in the bank, while Osinbajo had a balance of ₦94 million, $900,000 and £19,000 in his bank accounts. However, no mention was made of Buhari’s liabilities or his wife’s assets.
In 2019, the CCB said it could only publicly disclose the assets of former presidents and public office holders’ assets once it received their consent.
What happens if a publicly elected officer fails to comply?
According to the Constitution, the penalties for not disclosing assets to the CCB include either a conviction or:
- Removal from office.
- Disqualification from holding any public office.
- Forfeiture to the state of any property acquired in abuse of office or dishonesty.
If you plan to seek public office, you should now understand all there is to know about asset declaration.
