By Onyewuchi Ojinnaka
A human rights and advocacy group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has challenged the presidential candidates of all political parties that will contest on the February 16 presidential elections to publicly tell Nigerians what they will do regarding the illegal security votes, constitutional immunity clause, the missing $16 billion meant for electricity projects, and the opacity around asset declaration details by presidents and governors.
The challenge was thrown open at a public enlightenment session on anti-corruption commitment event organized by SERAP at Radisson Hotel Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria for presidential candidates ahead of February 16 elections.
While welcoming the presidential candidate of KOWA Party, Sina Fagbenro-Byron to the debate, SERAP’s deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare said the debate is to afford opportunity to the presidential candidates to tell Nigerians how they would tackle corruption related issues such as constitutional immunity clause, illegal security votes, missing $16 billion meant for electricity projects and the opacity around asset declaration details by presidents and governors.
Speaking at the event, the presidential candidate for KOWA party, Sina Fagbenro-Byron said that if voted into power, he would set up an independent body of investigators with specific powers to reopen the alleged missing $16 billion meant for electricity projects during the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and all reports of corruption in the electricity sector, and to ensure effective prosecution of corruption allegations in the sector.
KOWA Party presidential candidate expressed that he is particularly interested in getting to the root of allegations of looting of benefits of families of deceased employees of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and the budgeted N16 billion between 2003 and 2007.
Fagbenro-Byron who seemed to be the only presidential candidate further vowed that he would be committed to a comprehensive audit of spending on security votes by presidents and governors since the return of democracy in 1999, and commit to direct the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice to take legal action, in the public interest to hold governments to account on spending on security votes.
He advised that the leading presidential candidates – President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives’ Party and Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party should stop taking Nigerians for granted and speak to Nigerians directly on how, exactly, they will address “these fundamental governance issues.”
Sina Fagbenro-Byron accepted all SERAP’s 5-point anti-corruption commitments for presidential candidates.
His statement at the event read in part: “I do not subscribe to the current manner of management of security votes and I commit to subjecting such votes to public audit and scrutiny within 3-6 months of their expenditure in which case the president and state governors shall be held responsible as Chief accounting officers regardless of whether they have delegated such powers.”
“I commit to decentralize the power generating, transmission and distribution capacity in Nigeria and will immediately institute a Law Review Panel to repeal and replace the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005. Alongside this, I commit to the immediate set up of an Independent Body of Investigators to deeply investigate systemic corruption and impunity within the system.”
“I commit to the engagement of Independent Prosecutors as well as Special Anticorruption Courts in the six-geopolitical zones of the country for the effective and speedy prosecution of all indicted for corruption at state level. I also commit that within the first 365 days in office, to begin the process of a new constitution which will make provision for the institutions stated herein.”
“I commit to amending section 308 of the 1999 Constitution on immunity to exclude acts of criminal breach of trust. I also commit to work with the judiciary to improve the independence of the National Judicial Council, including by reviewing requirements for its leadership to allow retired judges of proven integrity to lead the council. I further commit to working with and encouraging the Chief Justice of Nigeria and National Judicial Council to ensure that the Chief Justice of Nigeria and all other judges make periodic asset declarations and public disclosures of such declarations.”
“I commit to empower the Attorney General and Minister of Justice or an Independent Investigator with an irrevocable instruction to cause to be periodically investigated cases of apparent disparity between the asset declarations of elected public servants, including of the President and Governors before assuming offices and their alleged wealth after leaving, to refer such cases to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) the Code of Conduct Bureau for joint investigation and prosecution with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
The public enlightenment session chaired by Dr Dele Seteolu, Lecturer, Department of Political Science Lagos State University (LASU) was attended by Professor Yemi Oke, University of Lagos (UNILAG); Professor Fassy Adetokunbo Yusuf, UNILAG; Dolapo Adeniran, Head Public Affairs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Seun Ademiluyi, National Human Rights Commission; representative of Mr. Tope Fasua, presidential candidate of Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party ANRP; and representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); the Institute of Chartered Accountants; and the Institute of Taxation.Others at the event were: representatives of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers; the Chartered Institute of Bankers; civil society organizations; the media and development partners, among others.
It would be recalled that SERAP had last month sent an open letter to major presidential candidates for Nigeria’s February 16 election urging them to “publicly commit to revolutionary and innovative anti-corruption reforms in five key areas, such as security votes, power sector corruption, judicial corruption and removal of immunity for presidents, vice-presidents, state governors and deputy state governors.”
SERAP then urged presidential candidates for Alliance for New Nigeria, Fela Durotoye; Young Progressives Party candidate, Kingsley Moghalu; KOWA Party, Sina Fagbenro-Byron; African Democratic Congress, Obadaiah Mailafia; African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore and others to make specific commitments on what they would do to address corruption in the power sector and security votes, among others.
