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‘Obasanjo Should Declare Assets in Public’
We all live in glass houses, says Gov From Agaju Madugba in Kaduna and Funmi Peter-Omale in Jos, 11.25.2004
Plateau State House of Assembly yesterday formally replied the Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujinmi, on his report detailing allegation of corrupt practices against Governor Joshua Dariye and challenged President Olusegun Obasanjo and other public officers to make open declaration of their assets. Also addressing the allegation of corruption levelled against him on the BBC Hausa Service programme monitored in Kaduna yesterday, Dariye warned his detractors that "all of us live in glass houses. So, let no one start throwing stones. We should be Godly and disciplined." The Assembly, in a letter with reference no: PLHA/OFF/58 dated November 24 and addressed to the Attorney General said that the Federal Government should make its anti-corruption crusade holistic instead of singling out an individual as a scape goat. While calling on the Code of Conduct Bureau to make public, asset declaration made by all public officers starting with Obasanjo, the Assembly said "selective punishment affronts our sense of justice and fairness and offends against the fundamental tenets and principles of true democracy". Sections 140, 149, 152, 185, 194, 196, 52 and 94 of the constitution provides that the president, governors and different other categories of elected and appointed public officers "shall not begin to perform the functions of (their) office until (they have) declared (their) assets and liabilities as prescribed in this constituton." Also, section 11 of the Code of Conduct contained in the Fifth Schedule of the constitution states that "every public officer shall within three months after the coming into force of this Code of Conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter -(a) at the end of every four years; and (b) at the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau, a written declaration of all his properties, assets and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of 18 years." Governor Umaru Musa Yar’Adua of Katsina State was the only one who in 1999 after assumption of office made public his assets declaration as the constitution only requested the affected officers to "submit" the declaration to the Bureau. The Plateau Assembly, however, also called on the Attorney General to put in public domain all information relating to all the cases prosecuted by his office before the Code of Conduct Tribunal; and all such cases in which the AGF had entered a nolle prosequi. The legislators also requested facts on all such pending cases before the Code of Conduct Tribunal. On the criminal allegations against Dariye, the Assembly maintained that Olujinmi has made a "subjudice" matter a public issue and should therefore put in the public domain all information relating to it. "The allegations of corrupt enrichment, owning and operating foreign bank accounts and other alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct levelled against Governor Joshua Dariye are also subjudice in the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the Federal High Court, Abuja," the Assembly stated. The Assembly argued that it was unfair for Olujinmi to have, though the matter before the Code of Conduct Tribunal was being prosecuted by his office, put in public domain through video shows and publication of the full text of his letter to the Speaker in the media. Faulting Olujinmi for "claiming that the British government is the one making these allegations of criminal offences against the head of one of the constituent states in the federation of Nigeria", the Assembly stated that Plateau state "government is as sovereign as the federal government, each with its constitutionally assigned sphere of power and jurisdiction". The Attorney General of the Federation had in a letter dated November 10, 2004 with reference no:HAGF/JD/2004/Vol 1 addressed to the Speaker of the Plateau Assembly catalogued a web of criminal allegations against Dariye. The offences, which were grouped in parts, involve those committed in violation of British law and those which violated Nigerian laws. The Assembly, which went into an executive session over the issue, however, maintained that it "shares with Mr. President the noble commitment to the maintenance and enforcement of the highest standards of public probity and accountability in the public service throughout Nigeria". While affirming its commitment to government's anti-corruption crusade, the Assembly called on the Federal Government to disseminate widely the latest report of Transparency International which rates Nigeria as the third most corrupt country in the world and provide a forum for enlightened debate on the way forward. It, however, noted that its utmost priority is how to manage the aftermath of the six month state of emergency and deploy its energy and resources in furtherance of the peace process in the state. The Assembly also stated that its suspension by the President through the declaration of state of emergency in Plateau state is subjudice in the Supreme Court. The Speaker of the House, Mr. Simon Lanlong, later addressed the alleged plans to recall Deputy Senate President, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, and said he would not join issues over the recall issue. Lanlong noted that the issue was not about personality but about constitutionality. Lanlong had disclosed that Mantu consistently failed in his "responsibilities in briefing his constituents before, during and after the emergency period. " "The people of Plateau Central would want to know if he is still representing them or not because as a National Assembly member he is supposed to brief his people regularly," the Speaker had stated shortly after the restoration of democratic structures. Mantu had, however, dismissed the speaker’s statement as the ranting of an ant. Dariye in the BBC interview yesterday vowed that he was set to face any investigation panel regarding allegations of financial misdeeds against him. He dared the law enforcement agencies to take up in court any established cases of financial crimes against him. According to Dariye, "the laws of the land are for everybody. If somebody is accused of any wrong doing, the law enforcement agents should take it up." "I was born in Plateau and I grew up in Plateau. I am sure Plateau people see Dariye as their dependable choice from now till 2007. "I am not afraid of any investigations because I did not steal. I was a businessman before I became governor. Some people joined politics with bathroom slippers but today they are billionaires. "We are in a democracy. It is the people of Plateau who elected me, they gave me their mandate. The only thing that can bring progress in Plateau State is for all of us to forgive one another," he said. However, a group called the Plateau Movement for the Sustenance of Democracy has in a petition to the State Assembly called on members to set in motion machinery to investigate the allegations against the governor. In an open letter signed by Dalung Selcap, Chairman, Langtang local government area and 16 others made available to newsmen in Jos yesterday, the group noted that the allegations were serious enough to be thoroughly investigated. They stated that if the allegations were established, appropriate constitutional sanction should be meted out to Dariye as he would no longer be fit to occupy that position. Also, the League of Human Rights has urged the state Assembly to sit up to its responsibilities and discharge its duties without fear or favour. The league in a press statement signed by its director, Nankin Bagudu, regretted that the signals from the Assembly are disturbing as they pointed to the fact that the members "have been compromised and are in oga's pocket." The human rights group urged the Assembly to employ all the constitutional provisions at its disposal to verify and take necessary action. Meanwhile, chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Ibrahim Saminu Turaki of Jigawa State, has explained that the recent Plateau crisis was one of the major factors that necessitated the northern peace conference which is scheduled to hold in Kaduna on December 1 and 2. He said northern governors should not take the blame for the emergency rule in Plateau State and that, "we should not paint Dariye black, we should rather look at his positive aspects." According to Turaki, "the northern peace conference is expected to provide all stakeholders the opportunity to share the experiences they have attained in managing communal crises in the last few years, the lessons they have learnt, and further explore avenues of bringing lasting peace to the northern states." He listed some other aims of the conference to include: •Identify causes of ethno-religious and communal crises in the northern states and sensitise northerners on the harmful effects of such crises and on the need to join hands and work together to overcome them. • Bring together key stakeholders in the north, including political and religious leaders, traditional institutions, the business community, professionals and the civil society, with a view to finding a lasting solution to the ethno-religious and communal conflicts in the region. • Come up with viable and workable proposals for resolving these conflicts and devise a realistic framework for implementation.
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