SERAP Tasks Jonathan, Buhari, Others To Endorse 7-point Anti-corruption Programme

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, Nigeria 2015 Election Sunday, January 18th, 2015

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, General Muhammadu Buhari and other presidential candidates asking them to make a clear and unequivocal commitment to uphold and implement 7-point anti-corruption and human rights programme in their political policies if elected.

Other presidential candidates include: Chekwas Okorie, All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA); Oluremi Sonaiya, Kowa Party; Nani Ibrahim Ahmad, African Democratic Congress (ADC); Ambrose Albert, Hope Democratic Party (HDP); Martin Onovo, National Conscience Party (NCP); and Ganiyu O. Galadima Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN).

In the letter dated 16 January, 2015 and signed by SERAP’s Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization said that, “We believe that the forthcoming presidential election holds the potential to usher in changes in the way that Nigeria enforces and implements its human rights and anticorruption commitments. We urge you to clearly and unequivocally commit to concrete human rights reforms to end the increasing level of corruption and the impunity of perpetrators.”

According to the organization, “Evasive and obfuscatory commitments by politicians undermine transparency and accountability of elected public officials and contribute to bad governance. By making a clear and unequivocal commitment to implement the proposed 7-point program, Nigerians will be able to make an informed and unbiased decision to vote for issues and not personalities. They will also be able to compare what you are promising to do and what you actually do while in the office.”

“We believe that the president after the election must come to term with the reality of massive high-level official corruption, and the devastation and suffering it has caused millions of innocent Nigerians,” the organization said.

The 7-point program reads in part: “We ask you to demonstrate your total rejection of corruption by publicly declaring your assets ahead of the election. Nigerians are not prepared to trust a would-be president that is unwilling to come clean and be straight with them. We also ask you to make a clear and unequivocal commitment to recover all stolen public funds since the return of democracy in 1999 and to spend the funds on projects that can ensure respect for basic socio-economic rights of all Nigerians”

“We ask you to clearly and unequivocally commit that if elected your government will cut-down unnecessary and wasteful expenses in particular that spending on presidential jets, on foreign and local trips, on meals and refreshment, and on fuelling generators will be drastically cut and that the savings will be used for better projects that can add value to good governance and improve the conditions of millions of Nigerians living in poverty.”

“We ask you to commit to ensuring that within six months in office that allegations of corruption in spending on military equipment will be fully investigated and suspected perpetrators brought to justice. We believe that transparency and accountability in the management of funds meant to end the problem of Boko Haram is key to efficient and effective security forces capable of responding to Nigerians’ legitimate security needs. We ask you to tell Nigerians what you would do to promote transparency and accountability in military spending and ensure that the conflict in the north-east is swiftly and satisfactorily brought to an end.”

SERAP added that “We ask you to make a clear and unequivocal commitment to within six months of assumption of office begin to resolve all outstanding cases of high level official corruption, in particular, cases of corruption in the aviation, oil subsidy scandal, alleged mismanagement of trillions of Naira by the Security and Exchange Commission, missing N300 billion in the petroleum ministry since 2011, the KPMG report involving large-scale corruption in the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the missing $20 billion from the account of the NNPC, and the missing $12.4 oil windfall during the Babangida administration.”

“We ask you to tell Nigerians that within your first 100 days in government you will lead the process to domesticate and effectively implement the UN Convention against Corruption within the legal system. We also ask you to commit to ensuring a robust and effective whistle-blowers’ law, and to establishing a politically independent and well-resourced anticorruption commission with potent and effective prosecutorial powers. We ask you to commit to non-interference in the work of the anticorruption commissions and agencies.”