Saraki Named In Another Financial Mess

Dr. Bukola Saraki

SENATE President, Dr. Bukola Saraki was yesterday shortlisted among some personalities that have hidden properties offshore which were not among the assets declared on assumption of office as provided by law. 

Following this development, the already embattled Senate President was battling yesterday to give his own side of the story stating that he fully complied with the provisions of the law on declaration of assets by public officers.

 

In a statement through his Special Adviser (Media and Public Affairs) Yusuph Olaniyonu, he stated that the property in question formed part of his wife’s family as alleged in the Panama Papers, a huge trove of documents by the offshore provider, Mossack Fonseca, and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) that he failed to declare assets belonging to his wife, Mrs Toyin Saraki, in secret offshore territories. 

 “The property in question forms part of Dr. Saraki’s wife’s family asset. It is public knowledge that Mrs. Saraki comes from a family of independent means and wealth with numerous and varied assets acquired over decades in family estates and investments. Furthermore, the law only requires a public officer to declare both his own assets and those held by his spouse and his children under 18 years of age. The law does not require a public officer to declare assets held by the spouse’s family.

“It is not expected by the law that a public officer should declare such assets held in the spouse’s family estate. Indeed, the Code of Conduct form does not make provision for declaration of spouse’s family assets.”

But the report in the Panama Papers alleged that at least four assets belonging to the Saraki family, domiciled abroad have been uncovered.

It alleged that the Senate President failed to declare them to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as required by Nigerian laws.

This revelation obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) with Premium Times and over 100 other media partners in 82 countries, comes as Saraki battles to extricate himself from allegations of corruption.

The Senate President’s case before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) is due to begin in Abuja today.

In a written response to ICIJ, the Senate President insisted, through his UK lawyers, that he  complied with the provisions of the law in respect of assets declaration.

“declared his assets properly in accordance with the relevant legislation,” and that the charges against him “are both unfounded and politically motivated”, the statment partly stated.