The Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project (SERAP) in its suit, has asked the court to order Deputy Governors of the 36 states to make public the details of their assets, specifically property and income, contained in their asset declaration forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) since assuming office. In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/65/2020 filed last Friday, SERAP is seeking: “an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus to direct and or compel President Buhari, Vice-President Osinbajo, 36 State Governors and their Deputies to make public their total asset whether they have received any confirmation of the verification of their asset declarations by the CCB and to disclose whether they have taken any steps to encourage members of their cabinet to also submit their asset declarations to the CCB, and to make such declarations public.
The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI) requests dated January 3, where it expressed concern that the non-public disclosure by public officials of their summary of assets undermines the effectiveness and integrity of the constitutional and statutory obligations by these public officeholders. Also reacting to the FoI request, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, was quoted to have said: “SERAP asking the President to declare publicly, on the basis of what law? The President will do what the law requires of him and what the law requires is that he should declare his asset, which he has done. “Declaring publicly is not in our laws; it can only be a voluntary thing” He said.
SERAP said only two states – Lagos State and Niger State – have responded to its FoI requests. A statement by the SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said, however, both States declined the requests to make public the assets of their Governors and Deputies, on the ground that “the FoI Act is inapplicable to State Governments, their agencies and officials, and that only House of Assembly of States are constitutionally empowered to make laws on public records of States.” Oluwadare said the organisation is also seeking a declaration that the failure of President Buhari, Vice President Osinbajo, 36 state Governors and their Deputies to provide the requested information on their assets constitutes a breach of SERAP’s right under the FoI Act, 2011, and as such the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances.
