Ahead of the May 29 inauguration of a new administration, civil society organisation (CSO), Fixing The Future, has called on President-elect, Bola Tinubu, his deputy, Kashim Shettima, governors and other public officials to declare their assets.
Urging politicians to comply with the extant law on asset declaration, the organisation equally advised them to declare assets of their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21, as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act.
The Executive Director, Stanley Ekpa, who addressed journalists yesterday in Abuja, said the demand followed findings that public officials only declare their personal assets and exclude those belonging to members of their households in contravention of existing law.
He regretted that about 94 per cent of public office holders do not comply with Section 15 (1) (c) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act on full disclosure of assets and liabilities.
According to him, unless the nation’s asset declaration and declared asset verification system is made efficient, contract and procurement corruption would not abate.His words: “We want to draw attention of public officials to Section 318, Paragraph 19 of Part I and Part II of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) that the law requires all public officials, their spouses and unmarried children under the age of twenty-one (21) to declare their assets and liabilities in the asset declaration forms as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
“The scourging cost of corruption is staggering. Of the approximately $13 trillion that governments spend on public projects across Africa, more than 45 per cent is lost to contract corruption. Data from the African Union show that Nigeria loses over $7 billion to corruption yearly. At the continental level, it is estimated at $140 billion.
“A figure that is equivalent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of five countries in Africa. PwC projects that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37 per cent of GDP by 2030 if it is not curtailed. As we all know, corruption drains public finances, affects efficiency in governance and lowers standard of living.
“To curtail corruption in public service in Nigeria, public officials must observe and obey provisions of the extant law on full disclosure of their assets and liabilities before and during their tenures.”
Ekpa added: “Consequently, we are going beyond just this press conference to holding a National Symposium on Asset Declaration and Declared Asset Verification in partnership with relevant stakeholders. The symposium is to raise awareness with both outgoing, incoming and existing public officials on the need to comply fully with legal requirements for asset declaration and seek creative ways for collaborative action in verifying declared assets.”
