Senator declares assets after Buhari example

A member of the Senate, Shehu Sani, who represents the central kaduna Constituency in northern Nigeria in the Senate, said he was worth 22million naira and has several houses and cars. Sani on Monday became the first sitting member of the legislature to declare his assets publicity, following President Muhammadu Buhari’s example for greater transparency and accountability in the graft-riddled nation.

Sani, a human rights activist who heads the Civil Rights Congress lobby group, said his decision was prompted by Buhari’s “moral standard” for more openness in public life.

Under Nigeria law, it is mandatory for the president, the vice-president. The state governors and their deputies to declare their assets when they take office and before stepping down. Other political appointees should also declare their assets but it not mandatory for them to make them public. Legislators are not obliged to make any declaration. Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, refused to disclose his wealth.

In a statement, the lawmaker said greater openness was the only way to improve Nigeria’s reputation at home and abroad, which has long been tainted by corruption.

Sani, from Buhari’s governing All Progressives Congress party, was jailed for pro-democracy activities by former military ruler Sani Abacha, who died in 1998, ushering a return to civilian rule the following year.