Improved access to assets declaration: A way forward in Nigeria

The fight against corruption is the mainstream of the current government of Nigeria. Thus, the need to give effect to the right to inspect declaration of assets and liabilities of public officers as provided in the Third Schedule Part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has arisen owing […]

The fight against corruption is the mainstream of the current government of Nigeria. Thus, the need to give effect to the right to inspect declaration of assets and liabilities of public officers as provided in the Third Schedule Part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has arisen owing to speculations and assertions by international organisations that the said fight has not yielded the desired result of either eliminating or curbing the menace of corrupt practices amongst public officers in Nigeria.

According to Transparency International (TI) through the annual corruption perception index (CPI), Nigeria was rated 26 in 2015 which gradually increased to 27 in 2016 and remained static at 27 in 2017. However, in the year 2018 the CPI further increased to 28 and gradually came down to 26 in the year 2019. This shows that the level of corruption according to the CPI by Transparency International has either increased or remained the same since 2015 even though the present government has invested a huge sum of money in the ceaseless fight against corruption.

To intensify the fight against corruption and promote a culture of accountability, openness and transparency in public administration, while protecting the privacy of public office holders, the 9th National Assembly needs to hasten the passage into Law of the Assets Declaration Bill which guarantees improved access to assets declaration of public office holders.

In the comparative review of the online assets declaration written by Eze Onyekpere Esq. he noted that “the Nigerian Online Assets Declaration System (OADS) should be designed to simplify the Assets Declaration System (ADS). It should have strong support mechanisms through websites, media, designated staff, telephone hotlines, etc. The system should be designed to facilitate the comprehensive compilation of declarants, sending out notices and reminders; make filling out of the forms and submission easy; facilitate verification including a comparison of information with data from other datasets, etc.   For functionality and effectiveness of the OADS, it should be designed in a way that declarations can be searchable (using data management software) by name, position, agency and other objective criteria. The software to support the OADS should be context specific, designed to meet the identified challenges of the Nigerian situation and not generic software.”

Also, the reform process according to the review would require the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to develop collaborations with several key public agencies – to have access to their information/data and also to provide CCB’s information/data to them. Banking information available at the Financial Intelligence Unit will as well assist the Bureau in verifying the assets through the Bank Verification Numbers (BVN). The Financial Intelligence Unit may also find assets declarations useful in its work of checking money laundering and illicit money transfers. Collaborations with the respective vehicle registration offices and land registration and titling offices will be helpful in verification exercises. Also, collaboration with the Corporate Affairs Commission and the Stock Exchange through the Central Securities and Clearing System will facilitate access to company related information and shareholding necessary for verification. Collaboration between the other anti-corruption agencies and the Bureau is also imperative. Other collaborations should include CCB and the National Identity Management Commission for proper identification of declarants; Human Resources especially the managers of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System for a continuous update of those bound to declare their assets.

In conclusion, the early passage of the Assets Declaration Bill by the National Assembly and various reforms including the online assets declaration system will help to improve public access to assets declaration.

Gregory T. Okere Esq. writes from Centre for Social Justice, Abuja.