Yar`Adua`s Assets Declaration

Yar'Adua's Assets Declaration
...Read the full article.

[ariteni]

You have spoiled a very beautiful essay by echoing the alibi that public officers are pressurized into corruption. It is not true that any community would castigate its son for not corruptly enriching himself on the slot of that community. This embellishment is unnecessary. That is an insult to the moral sense of Nigerians. Certainly such a thing would not happen in Yorubaland. Most of those who served in Chief Awolowo's AG and UPN are still alive. They remain heroes for resisting the temptation to loot. The same goes to the members of PRP and to some extent the NPP. They did not leave an empty treasury. So you cannot generalize.

If you have taken notice assets declaration by public officers is one of the strictly enforced provisions of our Constitution. The Bureau has been doing a good job silently. The Tribunal has also tried and convicted hundreds of Public Servants for Non-Compliance. Records of assets of all our top public officers are with the Bureau.

The Problem is (as you rightly pointed out) the officers refuse to make the declarations public.
But we can go round that if we are determined enough. We have to be creative and ingenious. Did Godwin Daboh consult anybody before he presented and deposed to an Affidavit in court alleging corrupt act by a minister even under a Military Regime? What about Aper Aku? What about Gani Fawehinmi? What about Olu Bajowa? What about Dora Akunyili? You need to apply unconventional tactics to fight corruption. That is one area I personally agree with Chief Gani Fawehinmi. Left to me, Nigeria would have done better fighting corruption if we had rendered Alamie and Dariye to the INTERPOL and then to Britain. Why did we render the drug pushers and terrorists to US govt for trial NOTWITHSTANDING that they were Nigerian Citizens? Musa Bamaiyi singlehandedly drove drug pushers underground in this country. The EFCC Chief has no excuse. At this crucial hour, his option is to prosecute the Governors etc or resign "jeje".

Those who have been pressurizing Yar'Adua to review and revise contracts entered into by Obasanjo should start from their Local Governments and States. The greatest damage consequent upon corruption happened at the local level. Unless and until we force the successors to probe their predecessors we can expect no progress and the assets declarations are useless because it is after a man leaves office that an evaluation is ripe.
Buhari did a good job as Head of State fighting corruption ex-post facto.

In a country of the blind, one eyed man is king. Public Assets Declaration by the President should not ordinarily be news. But because the soldiers were above the law and never did and ONLY Yar'Adua (of all 36 Governors) did in 1999 and 2003, it is news. I would not question the declaration as Abati just did. Nor ask if the Presidents kids have assets. He is not yet under probe. (And Babangida's kid that had aseets, what have you done about it?) The way forward is for Nigerians to insist that their Governors and Local Govt Chairmen also publisize declarations otherwise Yar'Adua's point is missed and he is helpless.

[el_pharoah]

Now, two final questions for President Yar'Adua: does he have any other assets held in trust for him and his wife by agents? Two, he is required by law also to declare the assets and liabilities of his "unmarried children under the age of eighteen years". Does he have children under eighteen years, and if he does, are there other assets being held in their names? My point: in Nigeria , an assets declaration form in the final analysis, may not really tell the whole story.

Why the innuendo? Does he have assets in trust or "unmarried children under the age of eighteen years" with assets that you would like to tell us about? Only in Nigeria would you get away with such libelous statements.

[truthsayer33]

Mr President,thank you for making this bold step for a Nigerian ruler.Already your cronies in the PDP are gnashing their teeth with rage at what they consider to be your irresponsible conduct.

Next please make a statement that you will not go abroad for medical treatment but will upgrade medical facilities in Nigeria.

[gwobezentashi]

I would not question the declaration as Abati just did. Nor ask if the Presidents kids have assets. He is not yet under probe.
- Ariteni

The Apologists are now in full flight. We should be grateful for crumbs. Since he has done better than others before him, we should be happy for the improvement regardless that he has not fully disclosed as the law requires or if you wish to be cynical assume a sleight of hand in diverting attention from what may be hidden in the children's portfolio by this PR exercise.

Why the innuendo? Does he have assets in trust or "unmarried children under the age of eighteen years" with assets that you would like to tell us about? Only in Nigeria would you get away with such libelous statements.
- el_pharoah

What is libelous about asking a public official if he has complied with the law? Where is the innuendo?

Already your cronies in the PDP are gnashing their teeth with rage at what they consider to be your irresponsible conduct
- truthsayer 33

They are his friends who happen to be cronies of the Balogun of Owu. His own cronies like Tanimu knew that he would publicly declare "something", which is what he did in 1999 and 2003.

The most valid observation Abati has made is that no one verifies any of these declarations, so it is all an academic exercise. At best this is all good PR for an illegitimate president.

Aluta!

Gwobezentashi

[el_pharoah]

Originally Posted by gwobezentashi

What is libelous about asking a public official if he has complied with the law? Where is the innuendo?

He has been asked for asset declaration, he has complied. If the author has contrary information about his assets he should kindly bring to the public place, instead of insinuation of and innuendo about under-aged children and fronts. The author has no facts yet he makes insinuations about his financial fidelty in writing abi no be libel be that?

[Mikky jaga]

El_Pharoah

The question is, does Yar Adua want to comply with the law as required in the declaration of assets or is he just doing a PR exercise? If he is truly sincere, the law requires him to declare the assets of his unmarried children. Chikena.

[gwobezentashi]

Relevant Parts of the Constitution for the enlightenment of those villagers who may be deficient in understanding of the requirements.

Chapter VI . The Executive Part 1
140. (1) A person elected to the office of President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in this Constitution and he has taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office prescribed in the Seventh Schedule to this Constitution.
(2) The oaths aforesaid shall be administered by the Chief Justice of Nigeria or the person for the time being appointed to exercise the functions of that office.

5th Schedule Code of Conduct Bureau
11. (1) 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 eighteen years.
(2) Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorised in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.
(3) Any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration required under this Constitution and which is not fairly attributable to income, gift, or loan approved by this Code shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this Code unless the contrary is proved.

[InDiaspora]

What exactly is Mr Abati's aim in this piece?

Methinks he ought to stress the imporance of full disclosure and not praise UMYA and wife for doing so. This is not a joking matter too many Nigerians will go to bed tonight on empty bellies - FACT. So the press should gear up to investigate the source of every kobo.

Anyway, for all I care all this gra, gra could be all for show - a calculated attempt by earning legitimacy by sympathies.

[What?]

1. There is a huge problem with corruption in Nigeria

2. Yar'adua has take a step by consistently declaring his assets since 1999.

3. By doing so he has allowed every Nigerian to Police him.

4. If other politicians and their dependents in the press and chattering class are sincere, they should make at least a token gesture to do same.

5. Such a token could be getting at least one Governor and Senator from each political zone, and a Representative and State Assemblyman from each state to do the same and also declare their assets when they leave office.

6. Even better all elected officials should turn in an asset declaration form to the EU, UN, or any of the other bodies they say are fair and should run elections in Nigeria.

7. Next all political parties should declare their assets, showing incoming and outgoing funds.

[Land Of My Birth]

Kudos to the President for opening up a window from which we could now have a glance at his person. UMY has challenged the political class and we have to commend him.

We still do not know how much OBJ declared in 1999 and how much he is now worth. We heard earful of OBJ’s alleged ''near bankruptcy'', his primitive accumulation and his conversion to later day saint on the road to Damascus. The truth, we still cannot figure. We would have been saved these needless speculations if he had the foresight of an UMY.

My issue with the President is converting campaign donations to his personal wealth. I do not know whether to see this as corruption, improper accounting or the nature of our politics.

Most election laws bar candidates from converting political donations for personal use. Any "unencumbered" campaign funds remaining as of the last day of the reporting period following the election is classified as unspent public funds that must be returned to the donor. Where the donors can no longer be identified, the campaign must give that extra amount to a charitable organization or to the government Consolidated Revenue Fund.

We hope that the President should still go ahead to do any of these.

[el_pharoah]

I really don't know the purpose of highlighting the constitution. Is the person is alluding that UMYA's lawyers do not understand the constitution which a display of conceit. Perhaps you believe that UMYA was so stupid as to prepare such a sensitive public document without advice from his lawyers about its constitutional compliance further displays a deficiency in discernment. If you don't see married children, fronts and fences in the form one can only assume that there are none, unless you know different, if you do neither the NVS nor the national dailies is not the place for it, kindly take it to court and challenge it.

[gwobezentashi]

@ el_pharoah

I really don't know the purpose of highlighting the constitution. Is the person is alluding that UMYA's lawyers do not understand the constitution which a display of conceit. Perhaps you believe that UMYA was so stupid as to prepare such a sensitive public document without advice from his lawyers about its constitutional compliance further displays a deficiency in discernment. If you don't see married children, fronts and fences in the form one can only assume that there are none, unless you know different, if you do neither the NVS nor the national dailies is not the place for it, kindly take it to court and challenge it.

It seems to me that you are protesting too much. The purpose of posting a relevant excerpt of the constitution is to inform villagers of the basis of an opinion.

Whether UMYA was stupid or not is not for others to disprove. What he has done is comply with the law, and in true democratic tradition, he is being questioned as to the veracity of the claims.

Let's be clear that UMYA has not done anyone any favours by publishing his assets. He has made a bold statement and in the same token offered an invitation to be challenged. If he has done anyone any favours, it is to himself.

Why are you making assumptions and not allowing others to similarly make assumptions? As you have observed, these are sensitive matters and infact in these matters, it is perhaps best not to make assumptions and seek clarifications when there is doubt. That he may or may not have sought the support of legal counsel is neither here nor there. Lawyers give good and bad advise. Lawyers help villains to escape justice. Lawyers win and lose cases. There are good lawyers, incompetent lawyers and crooked lawyers. What does it prove?

Where do you expect a newspaper editor to vent his opinions again if not on the pages of newspapers?

@ Land of My Birth

My issue with the President is converting campaign donations to his personal wealth. I do not know whether to see this as corruption, improper accounting or the nature of our politics.

It may not be just election laws that are breached. It could also be the constitution where it deals with the code of conduct of public officials.

Under the Fifth Schedule, Part I, Code of Conduct for Public Officers; the constitution provides interalia that:

7. The President or Vice-President, Governor or Deputy Governor, Minister of the Government of the Federation or Commissioner of the Government of a State, or any other public officer who holds the office of a Permanent Secretary or head of any public corporation, university, or other parastatal organisation shall not accept -

(a) a loan, except from government or its agencies, a bank, building society, mortgage institution or other financial institution recognised by law,; and

(b) any benefit of whatever nature from any company, contractor, or businessman, or the nominee or agent of such person:

Provided that the head of a public corporation or of a university or other parastatal organisation may, subject to the rules and regulations of the body, accept a loan from such body.

So have these gifts been given by corporates,contractors or businessmen? It may be argued that when he accepted the gifts, he was not the President except of course, he was a governor which is covered by the provisions.

[tonsoyo]

President Yar'adua has declared his assets to the best of his knowledge, whoever have problems with what he did should just sue him.

The provision has always been part of our different Constitutions no President before him ever had the integrity to publicly declare his own and yet heaven did not fall, now we have a guy who has taken us a step forward towards transparency, all hell is let loose.


As regards the campaign donation, I think he should be commended rather than rebuke. Nigeria at this time do not have laws governing campaign contribution as it is in developed world. It is therefore the beneficiary of such contribution that administers the fund. Yar'adua has the integrity in him to declare this fund as part of fund under his care and identified same as campaign contribution. He is not leaving anybody in doubt as to the source of the fund. If there is any laws against keeping it, such identified fund can easily be given back to the proper authority.

The question I will like to ask people raising issues with this is whether they would have preferred Yar'adua not declaring it, since it was not his 'personal asset' he is not required to declare, so he can then use the campaign fund as avenue to siphon money, since it has not been declared because it was not required and therefore nobody knows how much is in the coffer. He will still adminster the fund undeclared and spend it as he want.

The section of the law quoted by Abati is irrelevant, as non-public office holders do accept campaign contributions also.

What Nigerians should do is praise him for declaring the campaign funds, otherwise it would have been a good way for him to hide money, since if we do not think it is part of his personal asset, then he need not declare it.

I am not surprised that this anti-Yar'adua stand is being constantly fueled by some community-kid named Gwobezentashi an Atiku cyberworld 'Area Boy' We know he is Atiku boy therefore a sworn enemy of the winner against his loser boss. A product of community sponsored education, he is therefore No Longer at Ease, he has to justify community money by constanly coming out here to bark at the moon.

[Mikky jaga]

Tonsoyo,

"He that comes to equity must come with clean hands"

If Yar'Adua is not ready to supply answers to questions being raised on his asset declaration, he should just keep the assets declaration secret like others before him. By coming to the public, he wants us to believe he has no skeleton in his cupboard. If somebody sees something that looks like a skeleton and points that out, he should just shed light on such grey areas. That will be setting good example.

If Andy, for example, declares openly that he has 300 trillion dollars as assets, should we just grin and keep quiet? Anything declared publicly is public property to do with it as the public desires. Tonsoyo, keep your pen dry, you are not yet in UMY'A's legal team.

[gwobezentashi]

@ MJ
You mean say UMYA dey use fake lawyer?

Haba! Allah Sarki!

[tonsoyo]

Originally Posted by Mikky jaga

Tonsoyo,

"He that comes to equity must come with clean hands"

If Yar'Adua is not ready to supply answers to questions being raised on his asset declaration, he should just keep the assets declaration secret like others before him. By coming to the public, he wants us to believe he has no skeleton in his cupboard. If somebody sees something that looks like a skeleton and points that out, he should just shed light on such grey areas. That will be setting good example.

If Andy, for example, declares openly that he has 300 trillion dollars as assets, should we just grin and keep quiet? Anything declared publicly is public property to do with it as the public desires. Tonsoyo, keep your pen dry, you are not yet in UMY'A's legal team.

The sentiment betrayed in the last sentence of your last paragraph is exactly the problem with most of you who just think that coolest thing is to criticize the government pf Nigeria.

I do not have to be on Yar'adua legal team to voice my opinion, I am exercising the same right that you are exercising by criticizing him, to bring out the obvious.

There is a body charged with the duty to raise whatever concerns that might arise from his declaration, we are yet to hear from them. What determines a clean hand before equity? speculations and insinuations by Mikky and Gwobezentashi?

If you doubt Yar'adua's honesty bring out your proof or forever hold your peace brother.

[denker]

mallam gwobezentashi:

you dey try o! any thread wey me peep inside you dey there...you're working very hard these days...i must confess i admire your rigorous and fultime participation for dis our village..

...abeg, mak you no forget say i dey take my SHIRAZ exactly at 19°C....so my dear mak your quickly go cool it for me...i dey go come....!

merci!

[gwobezentashi]

YAR’ADUA ASSET DECLARATION: STOP THIS DIVERSION NOW!

- RAWLINGS WAS RIGHT FOR CARPETING NIGERIAN RULERS

1. The United Action for Democracy (UAD) deplores the diversionary antics of the illegitimate Yar’Adua regime that is opportunistically using its so-called declaration of assets to elicit public sympathy.

2. UAD believes that transparency and genuine governance go beyond the deceit of asset declaration when the hope of people for improved welfare is still far from having been addressed. Thus, the comical declaration of assets raises more questions as to:

- What was the worth of Yar’Adua on the eve of assuming the Government of Katshina State in May 1999?

- How did a supposedly frugal Yar’Adua acquire its present worth that is now close to a billion Naira (N1billion)?

- What are the sources of those campaign funds? Are they not from the same cronies of Yar’Adua and Obasanjo who were dashed the Kaduna and PortHarcourt refineries in the pretext of privatisation?

- In what way is the asset declaration addressing the issue of poverty, unemployment, collapse of education and health sectors, epileptic and inadequate electricity that were deepened by the ex-reticent dictator Obasanjo who imposed Yar’Adua on us?

3. The concern of Nigerians is a government that is focus on transforming our country through a people-centred economic policies, and not one that is bent on rationalizing the argument of neo-liberal policies on why government must deregulate the major sectors of the economy, thereby sowing further seeds of untold hardships and sufferings for majority of Nigerians.

4. The one legged and impostor Yar’Adua regime should stop diverting the attention of Nigerians from the real issues of governance.

5. We challenge Yar’Adua’s claim to transparency to use the same media to PUBLICLY DECLARE HOW HE WAS RIGGED AND IMPOSED AS THE PRESIDENT if he is to be taken serious.
6. Former Ghanaian President was right to have aptly described Nigeria as a disappointment to the rest of Africa because of our profile as a country where looters and plunderers of our national wealth hold sway with a culture of impunity.

7. This patriotic statement by a former dictator turned civilian president, underscores why all past rulers in Nigeria must be probed and prosecuted for the large scale corrupt atrocities and criminalities they committed while in office as deterrent to current and future rulers.

8. Almost every country in Africa, in particular, those in the sub-Saharan region look towards Nigeria with high expectations given its endowed potentials – human and material resources to chart the part of true liberation. Nigeria with the right leadership ought to represent the aspirations and hopes for a better life for all Africans as was exemplified by the heroic and invaluable contributions of such Africans icons as Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Julius Nyerere and of course Nelson Mandela.

9. No sane African will regard the decadence and culture of looting in Nigeria as anything to be proud of as the country is in its worst moment. Thus, Nigeria remains a mystery to the rest of Africa as a country of two extremes – stupendous wealth in the custody of less than 500 Nigerians, and extreme poverty and hopelessness to the rest of the people.



Comrade Abiodun Aremu

UAD Convener

July 2, 2007

@ ITB

...abeg, mak you no forget say i dey take my SHIRAZ exactly at 19°C....so my dear mak your quickly go cool it for me...i dey go come....!

Your burukutu dey cook for fire sir!

Aluta!

Gwobezentashi