Jonathan under attack over assets declaration
By Emmanuel Oladesu, Joseph Jibueze, Kamardeen Ogundele, Eric Ikhilae and Gbenga Omokhunu 12 hours 28 minutes ago
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President Jonathan

President Goodluck Jonathan was under attack yesterday over his decision not to make public his assets.

The All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the Save Nigeria Group (SNG) and the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) rejected the President’s stand on the issue.

To the CPC, Dr. Jonathan is not being “honourable” by his action.

The President, during his “Media Chat” on Sunday night, said, when asked why he was yet to declare publicly his assets: “I don’t give a damn about that. The law is clear about it and so, making it public is no issue and I will not play into the hands of the people. I have nothing to hide.

“I declared (assets publicly) under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua because he did it, but it is not proper. I could be investigated when I leave office.

“You don’t need to publicly declare it and it is a matter of principle. It is not the President declaring assets that will change the country.”

The CPC, in a statement, accused President Jonathan of not being honourable.

The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin, in a statement, said: “The Presidency feathers the nest of unending corruption in Nigeria.

“For the avoidance of any doubt, the Fifth schedule, Part1, 11(1) of the 2010 Constitution (as amended) states thus:

“Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, every public Officer shall within three months after the coming into force of this Code of Conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter –

(a) At the end of every four years; and

(b) At the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of 18 years.

“It is also with grave concern that we view the assertion by the President that as Vice President to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, he was forced to declare his assets against his desire. Should this mean that this President is not principled otherwise he ought to have resigned his appointment if he was forced to act against his desire?

“What is unmistakably clear is that the President’s demeanour on this issue of asset declaration leaves many unanswered questions:

•Is the President of the nation now selecting which provision(s) of the Constitution he will comply with when, in fact, he swore to defend the law of the land?

•Is the President’s unwillingness to declare his assets, more than four years after he did so in 2007, NOT frustrating efforts to rationally assess the net increase of his assets since commencement of his service at the nation’s presidency?

•Should the President still be trusted in championing the fight against corruption and lack of probity in public office?

•Is the President not willing to transparently deal with Nigerians who showed faith in him by giving him their mandate?

•Is he publicly spurning the path of probity that his late boss charted for him?

•Is the President above the law of the land?

•Should this explain why more horrendous and monumental fraud incidents have occurred in this regime’s life so far more than any other dispensation in the Nation’s history?

•Should it be accepted that corruption and opacity in governance are integral part of the modus operandi of this Presidency?

•If indeed the President has become an Avatar that cannot be subjected to obeying the law of the land, should there be any expectation that he can be lawfully voted out of office?”

“These and many more are the posers for discerning minds. The portent of the President’s persistent refusal to declare his assets are too grave for the salubrious well-being of the Nigerian polity. We call on well-meaning Nigerians to unreservedly condemn this latest insensitivity by the nation’s ruler,” the CPC said.

ANPP National Publicity Secretary Emma Eneukwu said: “it is now clear that Jonathan is encouraging corruption.”

“It is very wrong for President Jonathan to object to declaring his assets. This further shows that Jonathan is leading by bad example. This is the President who promised to lead with the Rule of Law and preaches transparency. We are disappointed. As an opposition party, we view this development as a failure on the part of government.

“Nigerians, by this move, will no longer trust their President who should be willing to declare his assets even without any push by Nigerians as a good example to other political office holders. But it is unfortunate that the President is not willing to listen to Nigerians.

“If a President who publicly says he is fighting corruption is not ready to declare his assets, then, it also means that he is deceiving Nigerians. We should pray that the situation will not go from bad to worse. A lot of things are going wrong in his government and yet he sees nothing wrong.”

SNG and ARG doubted Jonathan’s commitment to accountability and good governance, stressing that he has declined to show good example by refusing to publicly declare his assets.

SNG spokesman Yinka Odumakin described the President’s remark as “unfortunate at a time people are clamouring for openness and transparency in governance”.

He said the President’s remarks underscored his apathy to the promotion of ethical values in administration.

ARG’s Kunle Famoriyo described the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government as “a disaster”, adding that the President, who is the symbol of the ruling party, aptly mirrors the party’s position on transparency.

To Famoriyo, the President has failed to lead by example. He advised him to follow the footsteps of his predecessor, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, saying that it is not too late for him to publicly declare his assets.

Famoriyo said Nigerians would continue to have the feeling that Dr. Jonathan has something to hide because of his passion for secrecy.

Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), Mr Yusuf Ali (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) said the laws need to be amended to make public assets declaration binding.

Osipitan said the laws do not made the President to declare his assets publicly, but if he wants to demonstrate greater transparency, he can choose to let the public know what he owns.

“Under the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Act, it doesn’t have to be a public thing. He needs to declare it to the appropriate authority, namely the Code of Conduct Bureau. It’s not a public thing.

“But then, some people have gone ahead to establish a pattern of also making it public after declaring to the Code of Conduct. One or two people have made their own public. But it is not compulsory that it should be made public.

“But if he wants to demonstrate transparency, then he can decide to make it public, so that whoever has information about it can challenge it.

For Ali, there is no alternative to amending the laws to compel public declaration of assets.

He said: “Under our existing laws, it is not mandatory for any public official to declare their assets publicly, and that is why some of us have been calling for an amendment of the law to make it mandatory for public officials to declare their assets publicly.

“It is now left to the individual. That is the problem. It is a matter of discretion and you can’t criticise them if they exercise their discretion one way or the other. He has the right to do it or not to do it. And it the way it is, it will be wrong for someone to say ‘Why did not do it?

“So, there should be no discretion. The law should be amended accordingly so that it will be obligatory for people to declare their assets publicly.”

Ozekhome said once assets have been declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau, they are as good as public.

According to him, anyone can apply to the Bureau for information on the declaration by virtue of the Freedom of Information Act.

Akin Olujimi (SAN)

Former Attorney General f the Federation and Minister of Justice, Akin Olujinmi (SAN) said although the President is not under obligation to declare his assets publicly, doing so will help raise awareness among public servants.

His words: “The reason people insist is to show his transparency. People expect you want to rule by example. If he is able to declare publicly his assets, everybody will know this is what Mr. President has when he assumed office. At the end of his term, he is also expected to declare his assets so if we have a significant change, then you will want to ask questions. To ask questions you must know exactly what he declared when he assumed office. That is the wisdom.

“But constitutionally, there is no requirement for public declaration. In terms of transparency and the need to show example to others and to fight corruption, then public declaration of his assets is not wrong. If anything, it only encourages people to believe that he is not only ready to fight corruption but that is ready to show the whole world you can judge me by what I have when I assumed office and what I have at the end f the day.

Niyi Akintola (SAN)

“The President was right when he said the law did not require him to make public his asset declaration.

“The problem is not that what is declared is not made public. The problem is that most public officers engage in what I call: Anticipatory declaration of asset. They declare what they don’t have and once in office, they strive to meet that declaration.

“It is not whether or not it made public. If we have the political will to implement the laws, majority of our public officers will be in prison by now. All you need to do is to work with the relevant agencies, if for instance, his tax remittance does not tally with his declared asset, he can be jailed on that basis for tax evasion.

“But morally, he should have made it public having served under a former president that made his asset declaration public.”
http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/news/51700-jonathan-under-attack-over-assets-declaration.html?wwparam=1340715895

U expect me to read all this, for what? All i have to say is if he has nothing to hide, why dont he declare it and rest.

^^^