The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Friday, received copies of his asset declaration form at the State House, Abuja.
Buhari received the form from a delegation of the Code of Conduct Bureau led by its Chairman, Prof Isah Mohammed, who arrived at the Aso Rock Villa Friday afternoon.
This complies with the provision of the 1999 Constitution which mandates all public officers to declare their assets and liabilities on the assumption of office and at the end of their tenure.
The asset declaration form is a schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and is mandatory for all elected, appointed, recruited and contracted public officers.
Those affected are required by law to state their assets and liability, including that of their spouses who are not public officers and children under the age of 18 and submit the same to the bureau within 30 days of the receipt of the forms.
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, and the 28 incoming governors and their cabinet members as well as the state assembly members are also expected to submit their assets forms to the CCB.
Meanwhile, the Code of Conduct Bureau has said it will verify the assets of Buhari, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Tinubu and their families.
The CCB noted that all outgoing and newly-elected public officials have until May 29 to submit their assets declaration forms, after which verification of such assets would commence.
The CCB said, “Every declarant is required by law to declare their assets/liability, including that of their spouse(s), who is not a public officer, and their children under 18 years of age, honestly, sincerely and submit same to the bureau within 30 days of the receipt of the forms.”
According to a document obtained by Saturday PUNCH, all declarations made by officials will be subjected to verification by the CCB.
The bureau stated, “Note that all declarations made by the declarant are subject to verification by the officers of the Bureau authorised on that behalf. Failure to declare assets as required under the provisions of Paragraph 11 of the Fifth Schedule of the Federal Constitution shall attract on conviction any or all of the following; removal from office, disqualification from holding any public office, forfeiture to the state of any property acquired in abuse of office or dishonesty.”
The Enugu State Governor-elect, Dr Peter Mbah, and his Kano State counterpart, Abba Kabir Yusuf, on Friday, declared their assets to the CCB.
Mbah, who visited the South-East zonal office of the agency in Enugu, where he submitted his assets declaration forms, said, “As the chief executive, we are meant to uphold the law.
“It is also incumbent on us to act lawfully, and what we have simply done here today is in line with the new direction of my career.
He, however, promised that his administration “shall be upholding these requirements for all public officers”.
“It is mandatory and it’s not an option. As public servants, we are not left with any option, but to fill our CCB forms. We must abide by the provisions of the law,” he added.
Abba, who was received by the CCB state Director, Hajia Hadiza Ibrahim, said his action was a demonstration of transparency and accountability that would form the bedrock of the incoming administration in the state.
