The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba, has explained why the CCB did not release President Muhammadu Buhari’s asset declaration documents to the public.
President Buhari had pledged an open policy on asset declaration, urging the Bureau to do so on national television.
However, in a recent interview with Premium Times, the chairman of the CCB has disclosed why the Bureau disobeyed Buhari.
He said:” I will give you a very simple answer. He said you are free but who is free? Is the CCB free?
“The law does not say I should release anybody’s asset declaration. The document does not become public document after declaration, it is only the CCB that is allowed by the constitution to retain custody of such documents.
“That is what the CCB Act says. Besides, Schedule 3, Paragraph 3 (c) of the 1999 Constitution as amended says the bureau shall have power to retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.”