BURATAI ASSET DECLEARATION SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC
Lt. Gen Buratai |
The Coalition Against
Corrupt Leaders has called on the Code of Conduct Bureau to make public the
assets declared by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai.
The call from CACOL
followed reports in the media that the army chief purchased two mansions
worth $1.5m in Dubai.
Following the report, the
Nigerian Army issued a statement confirming that Buratai owned the properties,
and explaining that he bought them with his savings and that he had declared
both assets.
CACOL, however, questioned
the claim about how the army chief acquired the properties.
It said, “From empirical
analysis, it is clear that the arithmetic does not add-up even if the General
never spent a dime out of what he was to have officially earned since he joined
public service via the Army.
“How a General with his
‘life savings’ and even possibly other legitimate means could afford the said
properties is no doubt very questionable!”
“We are therefore hereby
officially requesting your Bureau, relying on the Sections 1 and 2 (and the
subsections) of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 for the details of the
assets declarations of the COAS, and for the information to be made public so
as to avail the general public the right to know details of COAS’s asset
declarations and to put to rest the controversies thrown up by the case.
“Clearly the issue is
affecting the National polity in a very negative manner.”
CACOL also queried the
processes involved in the COAS assets declaration.
It alleged that “the CCB or
some of its officials were either aware of the value of the said properties and
chose not to raise the alarm or found the assets unquestionable”.
“It could also be that the
Bureau or its officials found the assets questionable but refused to act,” the
coalition added.
The group noted that it was
a prerequisite for the Bureau to verify the true value of every assets declared
by public officials.
It, therefore, asked the
CCB to state whether its officials verified or ascertained the value of the
said palatial mansions owned by the COAS.
“Answering these questions
we believe will help in clearing the air and settle the dust over the possible
connivance of the CCB or it officials in the assets declaration imbroglio of
the COAS,” it said.
The discovery that the army
chief owned properties in Dubai had led to calls for his removal and an
investigation into how he got the funds used for the acquisition of the said
properties.
BURATAI ASSET DECLEARATION SHOULD BE MADE PUBLIC
Reviewed by deewhyhem
on
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
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