President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
have delivered on their first campaign promise, with the declaration
of their assets to the as required by the Constitution.
The 1999 Constitution of the country, as amended, states in
Chapter VI Section 140 that a person elected to the office of
President shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until
he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed in the
Constitution.
Though the contents of the assets declaration forms filled by the
president and vice president were not disclosed as at press time, it
was gathered that the forms had already been submitted and duly
acknowledged by its Chairman, Sam Saba, on Friday.
Confirming the development in a statement yesterday, head of
Buhari’s media team, Garba Shehu, in a statement, said the
President and Vice President submitted their assets declaration
forms separately on Thursday.
He said Buhari’s declarant identity was given as: President:
000001/2015.
“By declaring their assets, President Buhari and Vice President
Osinbajo may have not only fulfilled the requirements of the
Nigerian Constitution, but also fulfilled the first of their many
campaign promises.
“While seeking election into the highest office in the land, the
president had promised Nigerians that he would publicly declare his
assets as soon as he took over government,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, if information on the website of the Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission(RMAFC) is anything
to go by, President Buhari will earn a basic monthly salary of N292,
892.08, while Osinbajo will take home N252, 63.04 as his monthly
basic salary.
RMAFC is statutorily empowered by Section 32 (d) of Part 1 of the
Third Schedule of the Constitution to determine the remuneration
appropriate for political office holders. The salaries and allowances
are drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The current salary
structure and allowances were fixed by the RMAFC in 2007.
The RMAFC website puts the annual basic salaries of the nation’s
number one citizen and his that of Vice President at N3, 514, 705
and N3, 031, 572.50 respectively.
The current salary structure and allowances were fixed by the
RMAFC in 2007 and there is no indication on the agency’s website
that the wages have been reviewed.
For Buhari, with other allowances, the total amount payable
monthly is N1, 171,568.33 and N14, 058, 820.00 per annum.
In the case of Osinbajo, he is entitled to a total of N1, 010, 524. 17
monthly, and N12, 126,290.00 per annum.
Besides basic salaries, the nation’s two topmost public officers are
also entitled to various regular allowances such as hardship, 50 per
cent of the basic salary – N1, 757, 350.50; consistency – 250 per
cent, N8, 786, 762.50.
Their irregular allowances include accommodation and furniture.
These are provided for by government in Aso Rock, where they will
reside during their tenure. However, the nation’s leaders will
receive regular duty tour allowance (per night), estacode (per night)
and medical allowances when requested.
The allowances are paid periodically, some monthly and a few once
in four years. Duty Tour Allowance and Estacode depend on travels.
According to information on the website, the president’s severance
gratuity is N10, 544, 115, that is 300 per cent of basic; he is
entitled to a leave allowance of N351, 470. 50 (10 per cent of basic
salary) and optional motor vehicle loan of N14, 058, 820, of 400 per
cent, to be repaid before the expiration of the president’s tenure.
Prof Osinbajo will also get allowances such as motor vehicle,
feeding and maintenance, special assistant, personal assistant,
domestic staff, entertainment utility, security, newspaper and
periodicals, while the number two man’s hardship, consistency,
severance gratuity and leave allowance are at N1, 515, 786.25; N7,
578, 931.25; N9, 094, 717.50 and N303, 157.25 respectively.
He will also receive a motor vehicle loan of 400 per cent of his basic
salary which is N12, 126, 290; to be repaid at the expiration of his
tenure.
Buhari denies travel ban on Jonathan’s ministers, aides
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari dismissed insinuations
that he had placed a travel ban on officials of past administrations
including ministers from travelling outside the country
He said they are entitled to their full rights and privileges under the
Constitution and must not be subjected to any undue harassment
and intimidation at the airports or at other points of entry and exit.
Buhari in a statement signed by Shehu, on Saturday, however
directed all agencies under the government to run their affairs in
full compliance with extant rules, regulations and the constitution
of the country.
“Unless otherwise directed by the courts, no law-abiding citizens
should be barred from travelling abroad. We must treat fellow
citizens with courtesy and respect. Officials at the borders and other
points of entry and exit should conduct their affairs in strict
compliance with due process. No one has my permission to bar
anyone from travelling abroad,” the president said.
In another development, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron
has requested President Muhammadu Buhari to attend the forth
coming G 7 industrialised nations meeting with a “wish list.”
Head of media of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, in a press
statement, yesterday, quoted the prime minister as urging President
Buhari to come with a list of areas he would like the country to be
assisted.
The G 7 meeting is, scheduled for June 7-9 in Berlin, Germany.
Delivering his goodwill message to the new President at a meeting
on Friday shortly after the inauguration, British Secretary for
Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Philip Hammond said his Prime
Minister had requested for a list of what Nigeria wanted, to help
succeed against the current challenges facing the country.
“We are waiting for your own list,” said the minister on behalf of
Cameron.
This meeting was a follow-up to an earlier one between the then
President-elect and Prime minister Cameron, at which
commitments were given to the in-coming administration in several
areas, including the fight against terrorism, power and energy and
such matters of common concerns of migration challenges facing
the continent as well what he called “intelligence fusion” to secure
Africa from global terror.
He also raised the issue of “free trade” between the EU and Africa, a
proposal he said enjoyed the support of several countries on the
continent and in support of which he sought to enlist the backing of
President Buhari.
President Buhari had promised to prepare the government’s
aspirations for the summit, which he said he would attend.
Mr. Han Changfu, the leader of the Chinese delegation, who is also
China’s Minister of Agriculture, equally urged President Buhari to
open avenues for Chinese investments in Nigeria.
China promised to help Nigeria out in several areas including
agriculture, power, railways and other infrastructure.
Meanwhile, speaking while receiving President of South Africa,
Jacob Zuma, Buhari expressed his wish to work with Zuma to fight
terrorism in Africa and outside the continent.
President Urges Prayers Over High Expectations
President Muhammadu Buhari has implored Nigerians to pray more
for divine help so that their high expectations would become
reality.
He also regretted that what the country had earned from 1999 till
date was not translated into sustainable development, hence
plunging Nigeria into deep trouble.
Buhari, who spoke at the inauguration gala organised at the
Presidential Villa on Friday night observed that youth
unemployment which had been pervasive throughout the country
was a keg of gun powder that needed to be dealt with.
Acknowledging that Nigerians love to pray, he urged them to pray
more for luck to enable their expectations to be met particularly in
the area of youth unemployment.
“We have realised our problems, we have made the sacrifice.
Nigerians pray a lot. We need to pray even more for luck so that
their expectations are deeply helped especially the youths.
“I know that more than 65 per cent of Nigeria’s population are
youths. Most of them are not employed whether they have been to
school or not. This is the keg of gun powder we are sitting on,” he
stated.
The president said he was confident that with the assistance of
friendly countries and the cooperation of Nigerians, the problems in
the country would be surmounted.
“Nigeria’s friends from Europe and America have spoken to me
personally and in Africa. They have known our troubles in this
country and they are the troubles we identified which I mentioned
during my campaign throughout the country.
“Firstly, security, the country has to be secured and efficiently
managed. This is what APC is all about. That’s why the legacy
parties made the sacrifice of jettisoning their personal ambitions,
trying to come together and took the bull by the horn and therefore
brought it down and slaughtered it literally.”
Buhari assured that his administration would immediately act to
secure the country by articulating a programme of action after
reading the handover notes given to him by the previous
administration.
Thanking Cameroon, Niger and Chad for physically coming to help
Nigeria in the war against terror, the president said, “we are going
to articulate our requirements when we study the handover notes
from the previous government and consult our immediate
neighbours and then consult our friends in Europe and America to
help us.
“We have identified the quickest way to go about it, agriculture and
mining, to feed ourselves, to get everybody employed and in the
process, earn skills. We are going to do that. And God willing, the
cooperation promised by our friends and the understanding
displayed now by our elite, will make it possible for us to make
progress.
“We have made our point to Nigerians and to our friends that we
will try and secure Nigeria as soon as possible.”
Buhari appealed to Nigerians to show understanding with his
government as he noted that a lot of damage had been done to the
country since 1999 whereas the present administration was
expected to do more with less resources.
The president stated, “and I ask Nigerians, please, bear with us. A
lot of damage has been done. If you can recall what Nigeria earned
between 1999 and now, what was the condition of our
infrastructure in 1999, what is it now, how come that what we
earned is not physically translated into sustained development?
“It is now on us with less resource in terms of debt servicing, less
revenue from oil to do much more. But I believe with the
cooperation of Nigerians and the cooperation of developed
countries and with our natural resources and with our talents, I
believe we will make a lot of progress.”
Buhari criticised past elections conducted in the country, noting
that politicians simply wrote election results in their sitting rooms
and announced them to the media.
He expressed delight that the situation had now changed with the
introduction of technology such as the Permanent Voter Card (PVC)
and the Card Reader (CR) in the nation’s election process.
“For us in Nigeria to somehow realise this seriousness and agreed
to stand firm with the help of technology, the PVC and the CR
because the previous exercises, it was the same motion we went
through. Those that think they are important, they sit in their sitting
rooms or party headquarters, write results, go to the radio houses
and television houses and announce results and say whoever didn’t
agree should go to court.
“If people are struggling for the next meal, not even tomorrow’s
meal, how can they go to court? I went to court three times and
ended up in the Supreme Court with the help of Nigerians because
they believed in this system and God in His infinite mercy has made
it possible this year,” he added.
The gala night was attended by some foreign leaders, Nigeria’s
past leaders, members of the Diplomatic Corps, captains of industry
and other important personalities.
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