Sequel to President Goodluck Jonathan’s Monday declaration that he would not declare his assets, a\u00a0 civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said it would invoke the Freedom of Information Act, and compel him to do so.<\/p>\n
SERAP said it has a\u00a0 sent a Freedom of Information request to President Goodluck Jonathan asking him to \u201cprovide information on your assets declaration details between May 2007 and May 2012, and to publish widely the information on a dedicated website.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group said that \u201cfailure to comply with the request within 7 days of receipt and\/or publication will compel us to seek appropriate legal action to enforce the FOI in your case.\u201d<\/p>\n
The request dated 26 June 2012 was signed by the group\u2019s executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni.<\/p>\n
According to the group, \u201cThe disclosure of the information requested will give SERAP and the general public a true picture of the assets of the president from May 2007 to May 2012, and will demonstrate the president\u2019s oft-expressed commitment to transparency and accountability and show that your signing of the FOI was not just a public relation exercise but a public duty done in good faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group said that it is \u201cconcerned that your recent statement that you would not publicly declare your asset is a clear violation of the Nigerian Constitution and the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party, and entirely inconsistent with your oft-repeated promises to prevent and combat high-level official corruption in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour statement may also have breached the provisions of chapter two of the 1999 Constitution dealing with Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which among others require the government to take steps to eradicate corrupt practices and the abuse of power,\u201d the group added.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are also concerned that your statement shows your government\u2019s lack of political will to lead by example, and to combat the endemic grand corruption which has continued to have corrosive effects on the human rights, in particular economic and social rights of millions of Nigerians. Your statement is also inconsistent with the action of a president who signed into law and is supposedly committed to the effective implementation of the Freedom of Information Act,\u201d the group also said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sequel to President Goodluck Jonathan’s Monday declaration that he would not declare his assets, a\u00a0 civil society group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has said it would invoke the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":495,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[28],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive","tag-jonathan"],"yoast_head":"\n