Nigerians who are itching to see the net worth of President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, may need to wait a bit longer, as

The Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, which keeps custody of the assets declared by President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has revealed that it lacks the power to make them public for now.

According to the Chairman of the CCB, Sam Sada, only the National Assembly possesses the powers to decide the terms and conditions under which such documents could be made public.

Sada said even though the Constitution of Nigerian made it clear that the agency should make available to the citizens the assets declared by public officials, the same law also gave the National Assembly the power to decide the terms and conditions for making such materials public.

He explained that the Bureau was ready and willing to comply with the terms and conditions specified by the National Assembly on the matter but can only do so once the law was amended.

“While the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act give the bureau powers to receive assets declarations, verify, examine, keep in custody and enforce compliance when there is a breach, the responsibility of determining how and on what terms asset declarations will be made accessible to the public was left to the National Assembly.”

“Several National Assemblies have come and gone since the establishment of the CCB without addressing the matter,” Sada added.

Kolapo Olapoju