The presidency through a presidential spokesperson on Tuesday said there was no law which mandates President, General Muhammadu Buhari (Rtrd) to declare his assets publicly.
While reacting to the demand of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) which urged Mr Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the 36 state governors to make their assets public in seven days, the presidency through Femi Adesina, spokesperson to Mr Buhari, said on Monday during Channels TV Politics Today, that no law compelled his principal to make public his assets in his second term.
SERAP had in its statement on Sunday argued that the non-disclosure by the officials “seriously undermines the effectiveness and integrity of the constitutional and statutory obligations to submit asset declarations.”
But Adesina said that such a decision to make the assets public “is a voluntary will and not a compulsion.”
“The president will do what the law requires of him and I can say for a fact that the president has declared his assets.
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“Declaring that publicly is not in our law but voluntary. Therefore, he cannot be compelled to do so,” he said.
Buhari had during his campaigns in 2015 promised among other things, to declare his assets publicly.
However, upon taking over from the Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, he reneged on his promises.
The FOI Act establishes the right of anyone to request information in the custody of any public official, agency or institution, with the exception of security files which are not of public concern.
However, Adesina noted that “If FOI Act is invoked, it will be left with the Code of Conduct Bureau to release such information. The president has declared and already deposited the documents to them. So, it’s left to them to make such a decision,”.
