Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila, and other high-ranking officials to publish their assets as they prepare to leave their respective offices. SERAP referred to the Code of Conduct for Public Officers in Part I of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Nigerian Constitution (as amended), which requires public officials to declare their assets immediately after taking office, at the end of every four years, and at the end of their term. In an open letter, SERAP said that publishing asset declaration forms and encouraging others to do so would enable Nigerians to scrutinize the assets and worth of public officials. The organization added that public officials cannot claim that publishing their assets would violate their privacy rights as asset declaration forms are public documents, and there is an overriding public interest in the disclosure of information on the assets of public officers. SERAP urged public officials to follow the example of former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who consistently published his asset declaration forms and planned legislative reform to make it mandatory for all public officers to declare their assets publicly. By publishing their asset declaration forms, public officials would show their commitment to transparency, accountability, and upholding Nigeria’s constitutional guarantees and international obligations.
