Corruption: FG Urged To Carry Out Constitutional Reforms On Assets Declaration
The Federal Government has been called upon to as a matter of urgency carry out the constitutional reforms on assets declaration in order to properly fight the raging corruption in the country.
Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Partner & West Africa Tax Leader, Price water Cooper (PwC), in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos, said that the current constitution created loopholes for corruption to thrive in the country.
According to Daily Independent, Oyedele argued that declaration of assets only as entrenched in the constitution without disclosing other obligations, gives room for corruption.
“A fraudulent person can set up a structure to acquire assets by assuming indirect liabilities and other obligations, declares the assets and then misappropriate public funds to settle the liabilities without showing any impact on the assets declared.
“There should also be a minimum threshold for declaration perhaps as a percentage of the minimum wage to avoid being accused of not declaring a negligible asset for political witch-hunt say a phone or handbag”, he said
Oyedele averred that emphasis should not be only on legal ownership, but also control and beneficial ownership, stressing that a public officer could use a proxy or anyone under his control to own assets acquired with stolen public funds without being caught by the assets declaration rule.
He posited that it was pertinent for the government to mandate relevant agencies to verify assets and liabilities declared and apply sanctions or prosecution for any violation in a timely manner, noting that it was not enough for the government to collect information and file it away or use it only for political vengeance.
Besides, he said that it was necessary for the government to require relevant tax authorities to check whether such assets had been disclosed for tax purposes where applicable and whether appropriate taxes had been paid at the right time on the income or gains used to acquire the assets.
He specifically said: “The question here is whether the assets declared were acquired legitimately or through fraudulent means, even before assuming office. Merely declaring assets correctly is not enough; the sources of wealth must be explainable.
“If the objective of fighting and preventing corruption is to be achieved, the loopholes need to be addressed as part of the ongoing constitutional amendments to make assets declaration effective in a systemic manner.”
