Corruption: FG tasks on online asset declaration

The Federal Government has been urged to expedite actions online asset declaration and liabilities to boost anticorruption in the country. The Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Barrister Eze Onyekpere, made the plea on Monday in Abuja at the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (ROLAC 2) ‘Improving the effectiveness of anticorruption processes and […]

The Federal Government has been urged to expedite actions online asset declaration and liabilities to boost anticorruption in the country.

The Lead Director of Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), Barrister Eze Onyekpere, made the plea on Monday in Abuja at the Rule of Law and Anti-corruption (ROLAC 2) ‘Improving the effectiveness of anticorruption processes and reforms capacity building workshop on online assets declaration system’.

He said that not less than 10m declarations of assets and liabilities would be recorded if every public officer complies with the law on assets declaration in Nigeria.

The programme with the support of the European Union/ROLAC in collaboration with the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) is to promote accountability and tackle corruption in the country.

Onyekpere said continuing with the old paper, analogue declaration of assets and liabilities will involve massive logistics challenges ranging from storage space, protection from pests and rodents, processing, verification and follow-up activities.

He said that the event was also to build capacity across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) at the federal and state levels six focal states of Anambra, Edo, Lagos, Plateau, Adamawa, Kano and the FCT.

He said: “The online assets declaration system (OADS) can only work effectively when declarants understand their duties and how they can practically declare their assets on the electronic platform.

“We envision a Nigeria where social justice informs public decision-making and guarantees respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all. The mission is to be a principal catalyst in mainstreaming social justice in public life through policy engagements and interventions that bring about economic, social and political reforms, rights enhancement and sustainable livelihoods.

“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended mandates every public officer, from the Cleaner in the Local Government to the President of the Federal Republic to declare his assets and liabilities at given periods. It also establishes the CCB which oversees and manages the assets and liabilities declaration system.

“If every public officer complies with the law, there will be not less than ten million declarations of assets and liabilities. But the OADS can only work effectively when declarants understand their duties and how they can practically declare their assets on the electronic platform.

“This informs the capacity building which involves public officers being the supply side as well as civil society organisations and the media from the demand side,” Onyekpere said.

He said that the vision and mission cannot be realized in a social milieu of pervasive corruption where an ethics in governance regime is not mainstreamed and that essentially, citizen’s commitment to systems change cannot be accomplished with doing business as usual, thus a new mindset, a new paradigm that leapfrogs existing challenges and provide solutions is entailed.