The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called upon President Bola Tinubu to utilize his initial year in office as an opportunity to make his assets declaration form public.
In a statement released on Sunday by its deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the President to “use the anniversary of your first year in office as an opportunity to demonstrate your oft-expressed commitment to democracy, accountability, and openness in government by immediately publishing your asset declaration form.”
Furthermore, SERAP encouraged Tinubu to “to encourage your Vice-President Kashim Shettima, ministers, and state governors to also widely publish their asset declaration forms.”
The organization stressed that for the promotion of public trust and the establishment of transparency, Tinubu should “urgently propose a constitutional amendment to include provisions on the creation of asset declaration database to publish government officials’ asset declaration forms before, during, and after serving in public office.”
Highlighting the significance of openness and transparency in asset declaration forms of high-ranking public officials, SERAP stated that such transparency would enhance the nation’s democracy and foster accountability across all levels of government.
The statement emphasized Tinubu’s inaugural promise “to take proactive steps to discourage corruption’, and to ensure that ‘Nigeria is impartially governed according to the constitution and the rule of law’.
“We urge you to use your first anniversary in office as an important opportunity to underscore and reaffirm your oft-repeated commitment to democratic governance, openness and public accountability by immediately taking concrete steps to implement the proposed recommendations.
“Transparency in the details of asset declaration forms would also enable Nigerians to scrutinise the forms and verify the financial situation of public officials and alert about possible conflicts of interest and corruption.”
SERAP stated that the declaration of assets by public officials is a “matter of public interest and your government ought to provide the leadership,” noting that one of the ways through which “corrupt politicians in the country have perpetuated corrupt practices is through hiding assets.”
“Our requests are brought in the public interest, and in keeping with the requirements of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended]; and Nigeria’s international anticorruption and human rights obligations.
“Information regarding the property and economic interests of public officials ought to be accessible to the public through a website created for this purpose”.
SERAP underscored the importance of asset declaration by public officials as a matter of public interest, noting that concealing assets has been a means through which corrupt practices are perpetuated.
The organization called attention to Nigeria’s constitutional requirements and international anticorruption and human rights obligations as grounds for its requests. It reiterated that information regarding the property and economic interests of public officials should be accessible to the public.
In light of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and international conventions supporting assets declaration by public officers, SERAP urged Tinubu to take steps towards publishing his asset declaration form and encouraging others to do the same.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President, disclosed Tinubu’s readiness to dismiss underperforming ministers and praised the administration’s performance, rating it at 70 percent as it approaches its first year in office.
