June 6, 2015/The Will
Following criticisms over their failure to publicly declare their assets as promised during their presidential campaign, President Muhammadu Buhari says in fulfilment of one of their campaign promises, his declared assets and those of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will be released to the public upon the completion of their verification by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
The President and his deputy had declared their assets to the CCB a day before their inauguration, but the contents were not made public.
The Senior Special Assistant, SSA (Media and Publicity), Mal. Garba Shehu who announced this in a statement on behalf of the President on Saturday, said “the duly completed forms by both the President and the Vice President were submitted to the CCB on March 28th, a clear day ahead of their inauguration.”
Shehu said, “It is hoped that this process will be completed before the expiry of the 100-day deadline within which they said they would do this.”
He said this statement was warranted by the need to clarify some suggestions that the President and the Vice-President may not, after all, declare their assets publicly.
“While such public display of concern is appreciated and valued, it must be said that it is a little precipitate.
“As required by law, the declaration and submission of documents to the CCB have been made, but there still remains the aspect of verification which the Bureau will have to conduct to authenticate the submissions made to it.
“In the circumstances, it is only after this verification exercise, and not before, that the declaration can be said to have been made and validated; and only after this, will the details be released to the public.
“There is no question at all that the President and the Vice President are committed to public declaration of their assets within the 100 days that they pledged during the presidential campaign.
“The President and the Vice President wish to thank Nigerians for their show of concern, and for the confidence they have shown in their leaders’ integrity, as evidenced by the high pedestal of uprightness and expectations on which they have placed them.”
