<p>Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged
35 state governors in Nigeria to “emulate the shining example of Oyo State
Governor, Seyi Makinde, who recently openly declared his assets, by publishing
without further delay the full details of their asset declarations submitted to
the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)<a>.</a></p>



<p>SERAP said: “Nigerians ought to know the worth of their state
governors. The publication of asset declarations by state governors will
improve transparency, accountability and good governance and assure the public
that neither fraud nor illicit enrichment is concealed. Knowing the worth of
state governors before and after taking offices would also prevent rumours,
half-truths or innuendo regarding asset declarations.”</p>



<p>According to the assets declaration form marked OYSE/2019/001, and
submitted to the CCB and made public this month, Mr Makinde’s worth is put at
about N50 billion – his firms are worth up to N48.1 billion; shares, cash and
portfolios make up the rest.</p>



<p>In a statement today by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare
which was made available to OpenLife,  ;the organization said: “Public officials
cannot lay claim to absolute privacy in matters of asset declarations. There is
an overriding public interest in the disclosure of information on the assets of
public officials, including state governors, who are trustees of Nigeria’s
wealth and resources. There is nothing inherently private in the affairs of
governors, and we will consider appropriate legal action if state governors
continue to fail or refuse to publish their asset declarations.”</p>



<p>SERAP said: “Continuing failure or reluctance by many state
governors to publish their asset declarations submitted to the CCB may lead to
public perception that the governors are attempting to hide something from the
citizens regarding those declarations, especially given the fact that many of
the public officials being tried for or convicted of corruption are found to
have made a false declaration of their assets.”</p>



<p>The organization also urged the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors
Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to “use his leadership
position and good offices to encourage all the members of NGF who have not yet
done so to declare their assets and to publish their declarations submitted to
the CCB without delay. ;The NGF can play a positive role in encouraging
greater transparency in asset declarations by governors.”</p>



<p>The statement read in part: “As fiduciaries and trustees of the
public weal, state governors are under an inescapable obligation to serve the
public with highest fidelity and openness. In discharging the duties of their
office, they are required to display good faith, honesty and integrity. They
must be impervious to corrupting influences and they must transact their
business frankly and openly in the light of public scrutiny so that the public
may know and be able to judge them and their work fairly.”</p>



<p>“Transparency in asset declarations is needed to check against
corruption and to hold the governors accountable to the governed. Publishing
the asset declarations by governors would help address the high level of public
distrust and dissatisfaction with spending of security votes by state
governors, enable closer relations between state governors and the public, and
secure the confidence of the citizens in their governments.”</p>



<p>“The prevailing distrust of bureaucracy and government officials
has given Nigerians the desire to keep a tight rein on public officials.
Openness is a necessary condition of popular democratic power, a predicate for
effective representative government, and an indispensable part of the everyday
life of the free individual.”</p>



<p>“Under Article 10 of the UN Convention Against Corruption, to
which Nigeria is a state party, governments should take necessary measures to
increase transparency in public administrations and to publish information
periodically.”</p>



<p>“SERAP notes that a fundamental objective of the Nigerian
Constitution of 1999 (as amended) is to prevent corruption and abuse of office
particularly through its provisions on the declaration of assets by public
officials. Provisions on the declaration of assets by all public officials
including state governors are entrenched in the Code of Conduct for Public
Officers, contained in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution.”</p>



<p>“Every public official is required to declare his/her assets
immediately after taking office and thereafter, at the end of his/her term of
office, by submitting to the CCB a written declaration of his/her properties,
assets and liabilities and those of his/her unmarried children under the age of
18 years.”</p>



<p>“The asset declaration form also requires a public official to
declare the assets and liabilities of his/her spouse. Any statement in such
declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorised in
that behalf to verify it is deemed to be a breach of the Code of Conduct.”</p>



<p>“Similarly, any property or asset acquired by a public official
after the declaration which is not fairly attributable to income, gift or loan
approved by the Code of Conduct is deemed to have been acquired in breach of
the Code unless the contrary is proved.”</p>



<p>“The late President Umaru Yar’Adua publicly declared his assets in
2007. Kayode Fayemi also publicly declared his assets in his first tenure as
Ekiti governor. Both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi
Osinbajo tersely made public their asset declarations.”</p>

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