By Linus Aleke
Ahead of the 2023 presidential election, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has tasked those contesting for the most exalted position in the country to declare their assets before the scheduled poll.
The civil society organization in an open letter to the presidential candidates told them to urgently publish details of their assets and liabilities.
The open letter, which was signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said: “the public office is a public trust. As such, the voters deserve to hear from presidential candidates regarding what they will do about issues of public interest, particularly concerning integrity, selflessness, openness, accountability, human rights, and the rule of law if elected.”
The group also urged them to publicly commit to rejecting vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the elections.
Noting that there is no constitutional requirement for presidential candidates to publish their assets and liabilities before elections, SERAP counselled that doing so would show that they can stand up for transparency in assets declaration by public officers if elected.
According to the letter, “As you and your parties prepare for presidential election campaigns, we hope that you will seize the opportunity to show your commitment to addressing these fundamental issues of public interest by immediately publishing details of your assets and rejecting vote-buying, intimidation and harassment.
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“Publicly committing to these issues will also show the voters that if elected you would act solely to protect the public interest, and avoid placing yourself under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence you in the discharge of your constitutional duties.
“It would also show that you would be accountable to the public for your actions and submit yourself to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this”.
The group said these candidates’ commitment to these issues will also demonstrate to the voters that if elected, any of them would act and take decisions openly and transparently, and that information would not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
SERAP also urged whoever emerges victorious in the 2023 presidential election, to publicly commit to probing the spending of security votes since the return of democracy in 1999, and widely publish the details of spending of security votes to find the missing N11 trillion meant to provide regular electricity supply for Nigerians; as well as obeying court orders and the rule of law.
