Ahead of the inauguration on May 29, Fixing The Future, a civil society organization, has urged the President-elect, Bola Tinubu; Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, incoming governors, and other public officials to declare their assets.
Stanley Ekpa, the Executive Director of the FTF made this known at a press conference in Abuja on Monday. He, however, empathized that public officeholders should comply with laws on assets declaration.
Ekpa said, “We want to draw the attention of public officials to the fact that the law requires all public officials, their spouses, and their unmarried children under the age of 21 to declare their assets and liabilities, in the asset declaration forms as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
“The cost of corruption is staggering. Of the approximately $13tn that governments spend on public projects across Africa, more than 45 percent is lost to contract corruption. Data from the African Union shows that Nigeria loses over $7bn to corruption annually. At the continental level, it is estimated at $140bn, a figure that is equivalent to the GDP of all but five countries in Africa.
“PwC projects that corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37 percent of GDP by 2030 if it is not curtailed. As we all know, corruption drains public finances, affects efficiency in governance, and lowers standard of living.
“To curtail corruption in public service in Nigeria, public officials must observe and obey the provisions of the extant law on full disclosure of their assets and liabilities before and during their tenure in office. They should also declare the assets of their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21 as prescribed by the Code of Conduct Bureau Act.”
