President Goodluck Jonathan has Declared his Assets, Though Not Publicly – Code of Conduct Bureau

President Goodluck Jonathan has come under criticism several times for his refusal to publicly declare his assets. He was once quoted as saying “The issue of public asset declaration is a matter of personal principle. That is the way I see it, and I don’t give a damn about it, even if you criticise me from heaven.”

However, today, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Dr Sam Saba said the President has no case to answer.

Speaking through Alhaji Ibrahim Manzo, the Federal Commissioner representing North West in the Bureau, who represented him at a Compliance Training Workshop for Public officers on Wednesday in Abuja, he said there was no law that says the President has to declare his assets publicly.

“As far as we are concerned, Mr President has declared his assets, though not publicly. There is no law that says that you should declare your assets publicly; it simply states that you should declare your assets.

“What is important is that he has declared his assets and when we go through his form and we discover any area that is questionable, then we will take him to court,” Vanguard quoted him as saying.

He added that the fight against corruption is the collective responsibility of all patriotic Nigerians, said Nigerians should wake up to the task.

My question now is – If the President has declared his assets, but not publicly, can Nigerians really say that he has declared his assets?