Buhari, VP fail to declare assets publicly

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.