In a collective call for transparency, various civil society organisations in Nigeria have urged Bola Tinubu to publicly disclose his assets.
This civil Societies include, Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) and the Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL).
While the law may not mandate public officials to disclose assets to the public, the organizations argue that the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act should grant public access to asset details.
Lanre Suraj, Chairman of HEDA, noted that despite attempts to obtain Tinubu’s assets declaration form through legal channels, they were unsuccessful.
“Some human rights and civil society bodies had approached the court to ensure that CCB released the assets declaration form of Tinubu, we came out with nothing,” Suraj stated.
SERAP emphasised the importance of Tinubu setting an example by promptly revealing details of his assets, income, investments, and liabilities.
Oludare, SERAP’s deputy director, urged the president to extend this disclosure to his vice and others, fostering transparency and accountability.
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Chairman and coordinator of AFRICMIL, Dr Chido Onumah, also urged Tinubu, to declare his assets in accordance with Paragraph 11 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution and make it public as a way of committing to the genuine fresh beginning he promised Nigerians.
Human rights lawyer Goddy Uwazurike expressed skepticism about the possibility of the National Assembly amending the constitution to compel public asset disclosure. However, he stressed the need for Tinubu to lead by example.
Debo Adeniran, Chairman of CACOL, emphasized the responsibility of media and civil society organizations in advocating for constitutional amendments requiring public officers to declare assets publicly.
Adeniran highlighted the challenge of eradicating corruption without knowledge of public officers’ financial changes during and after their tenure.
“That’s why corruption will be difficult to eradicate because we do not know what a public officer worth before and after their tenure. We are only talking of morality and the need for President Tinubu to lead by example and not from the aspect of what the law says,” Adeniran disclosed.