Federal Government, Code of Conduct Bureau Deny Violations Of
Constitutional Provisions on Assets Declarations By Public Officers
Lagos, Tuesday, December 14, 1999:
The Federal Government and Code of Conduct Bureau have denied that there
have been major violations of provisions in the 1999 Constitution
relating to declaration of assets by public office holders.
In a counter-affidavit filed at the Federal High Court in
Lagos by Alhaji Bisiriyu Onisarotu, the Bureau Representative of the Code
of Conduct in Lagos, the Bureau said it was untrue that a number of
executive and legislative public office holders assumed offices at the
inception of the Fourth Republic without submitting their declaration of
assets to the Bureau as stipulated in the Code of Conduct for Public
Officers.
The denials were in response to a suit instituted against
the Bureau and the Federal Government on August 30, this year by Media
Rights Agenda (MRA) and its Executive Director, Mr. Edetaen Ojo, in which
they are seeking to compel the Bureau to release to them the declaration
of assets made by 40 public officers, including President Olusegun
Obasanjo.
MRA is contending in the suit that the true interpretation
and effect of Section 3[c] of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the 1999
Constitution is that every Nigerian citizen has an uninhibited right of
access to assets declarations made by public officers and that the refusal
of the Code of Conduct Bureau to allow it access to the assets
declarations made by 40 named public officers is unconstitutional.
But in his seven-point counter-affidavit on behalf of the
Bureau, Alhaji Onisarotu said that he had been informed by the Bureau’s
Legal Adviser, Mr. J.J. Ndupu, that both the Government and the Bureau
have denied MRA’s allegations of major violations of the provisions of the
Code of Conduct for Public Officers, particularly the allegation that a
number of executive and legislative public office holders have assumed
their various offices without submitting declarations of their assets to
the Bureau.
Saying that the onus was on Media Rights Agenda to prove
these allegations, Alhaji Onisarotu averred that the Government and the
Bureau had also denied MRA’s claim that the Bureau did not refute its
allegations or allay the concerns expressed by MRA over the violations of
the constitutional provisions.
In its earlier affidavit deposed to by Mr. Ojo, MRA told
the court that it wrote to the Bureau on June 21, 1999 to express concerns
over the violations of the constitutional provisions and requested that
the organization be allowed to inspect copies of the assets declarations
submitted by certain public officers, including President Obasanjo, the
Vice President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the Governors of all the states.
According to Mr. Ojo, in its response dated July 5, 1999,
the Bureau did not refute or allay the concerns expressed by MRA but
merely stated that the National Assembly was yet to prescribe terms and
conditions to give effect to the enforcement of the provisions of
Paragraph 3( c) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution.
Responding to MRA’s claims, Alhaji Onisarotu said in his
counter-affidavit that “The Code of Conduct Bureau did not refuse the
request made by the plaintiffs to be allowed to inspect the assets
declarations in its possession but said ‘Consequently, you are therefore,
advised to await the prescription of such terms and conditions as the
Assembly may deem fit to make for that purpose.’”
Alhaji Onisarotu also denied MRA’s contention that a
dispute has arisen between the organization and the Code of Conduct Bureau
which should be resolved on the basis of MRA’s Originating Summons.
Justice Gbolahan Jinadu has fixed further hearing in the
suit for February 16.
Contact:
Maxwell Kadiri
Legal Officer
Media Rights Agenda
Tel. & Fax: 01-4930831
E-mail:
mra@mediarightsagenda.org
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