Why Elected Officials Should Declare Their Assets – Shehu Sani

The former Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Shehu Sani, has advised all elected public officeholders to declare their assets publicly.

Naija News reports that the chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gave the advice in a post via his official Facebook page on Tuesday.

Sani stated that the declaration of assets by public officials is the beginning of transparency, adding that he declared his assets during his time as a Senator and nothing happened.

He wrote: “All those elected into office should publicly declare their assets if they have nothing to hide. I did it and heaven didn’t fall. That is the beginning of transparency.”

Naija News reportd that Sani said this weeks after the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) said President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and other public officials preparing to leave office are not under compulsion to make their asset declaration public.

A senior official of the CCB, Veronica Kato, revealed that there is an Act that does not make it mandatory for public officials to make their assets declaration public, stressing that officials on their own can make it public willingly.

Kato said the bureau could only make public asset declaration documents available by a court order in a case where a public official was under investigation or trial for alleged corruption relating to the acquired assets.