Jonathan erred by not publicly declaring his assets when he became president – Prof Sagay

Prof. Itse Sagay, A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Constitutional lawyer, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his assets publicly.

He said the president should have made his assets public soon as he became president.

This is coming on the heels of the controversy surrounding the presidents networth after a US based website, Richestlifestyle alleged the Nigerian president is worth $100million thereby making him the 6th richest president in Africa.

It will be recalled that at a media chat with journalists on NTA in 2012, Jonathan, when asked why he had not declared his assets, said, “I don’t give a damn. That is a matter of principle and I am not going to declare. It is not the President declaring his asset that will end Boko Haram.” 

However, Prof Sagay told Punch on Thursday that the Nigerian president erred by not declaring his asset when he became President.

He said, “I think the precedence that late President Umaru Yar’adua established which was followed by Jonathan was very good and I think it was a mistake on the part of President Jonathan when he assumed power in his own right, to refuse to declare his assets. He must lead by example.

“Nigeria is a country that is ridden with corruption. So if the President of the country says ‘these are my assets and when I leave office, I will declare again and you will see that I have lived a straightforward life,’ that would have been very encouraging.

“It will be very good for him to declare, it will set a standard that the leadership of the country will follow and will create a high level of transparency. I hope he does so.”

culled from today Nigeria