11 ex-governors, 10 ex-ministers, 135 others at risk of losing assets as President Buhari signs new executive order

macfranc007 July 06, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Omotayo Yusuf

- President Buhari signed a new executive order to combat corruption

- The new law if meant to go after the assets acquired through corrupt practices

- Former governors and ministers are prominently featured in the report

President Muhammadu Buhari has intensified his fight against corruption with a new executive order he signed on Thursday, July 5 which targets the assets acquired by politicians through proceeds of corruption.

Vanguard reports that with the new executive order, 11 former governors are at the risk of losing their assets.

Former minister and other persons who allegedly helped to siphon the country’s fund are also targeted.

“Among those whose assets are being targeted for seizure by the federal government are: Gabriel Suswam, former governor of Benue State, Danjuma Goje, former governor of Gombe, Alao-Akala, former governor of Oyo State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu, former governor of Niger State, Sule Lamido, former governor of Jigawa State and Gbenga Daniel, former governor of Ogun State.

“Others targeted by the new order are: Attahiru Bafarawa, former governor of Sokoto State, former governor of Abia State, Saminu Turaki, former Governor of Jigawa, and Chimaroke Nnamani, former governor of Enugu and Fintri Amadu, former governor of Adamawa.

“The order also hopes to pin down the assets of former ministers under the Goodluck Jonathan and Obasanjo administration now standing trial for various corruption cases. Among this category are: Adeseye Ogunleye, Femi Fani-Kayode, Nenadi Usman, Bashir Yuguda, Abba Moro and Senator Bala Mohammed, who is the immediate past Minister of the FCT and Oloye Jumuoke Akinjide.”

Part of the bill states: “Whereas it is the responsibility of the Federal Government of Nigeria to protect the resources of Nigeria from all forms of Corruption

“Whereas Corruption constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the well-being, national security and stability of the country’s political and economic systems, as well as its continuous existence; and must be effectively addressed;

“By the powers vested in me under Section 5 of the 1999 Constitution as amended which extends to the execution and maintenance of the Constitution, all Laws made by the National Assembly (including but not limited to Section 15(5) of the Constitution) to, abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power, it is the duty of any responsible government to restrict dealings in suspicious assets subject to corruption related investigation or inquiries in order to preserve same in accordance with the rule of law and to guarantee and safeguard the fundamental human rights;

“Now therefore, I, Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in exercise of the powers conferred on me hereby declare as follows: Section 1. (a) of the order says,

“Without prejudice to any laws or existing suits or any other rights arising out of or in respect thereof, all Assets of any Nigerian citizen within the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, or within the possession or control of any person known to be a current or former government official, a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, any politically exposed person or any person who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in Corrupt Practices and Other Relevant Offences are forthwith to be protected from dissipation by employing all available lawful or statutory means, including seeking the appropriate Order(s) of Court where necessary, and shall not be transferred, withdrawn or dealt with in any way until the final determination by a court of competent jurisdiction of any corruption related matter against such a person.

This provision shall, in particular, apply to those connected with persons listed in the First Schedule to this Order, (or any such list as may be issued by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice).

(b) Where a Government official or a person acting for and on behalf of such an official, directly or indirectly, engages in Corrupt Practices such as misappropriation of State assets for personal gain, receives any form of bribe or engages in Corrupt Practices related to the performance of his/her duties or the award or execution of Government contract; or transfers, launder or facilitates the transfer or laundering of proceeds of illicit activities, such official, in addition to forfeiting the proceeds in accordance with the relevant laws, shall forthwith be subject to the disciplinary procedure in accordance with the Public Service Rules and investigation by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, February 5, signed an executive order to improve local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components.

According to Garba Shehu, the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, in a series of tweets stated that the executive order was expected to promote the application of science, technology and innovation towards achieving the nation’s development goals across all sectors of the economy.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigeria’s #1 news app

He added that the executive order also prohibits the Ministry of Interior from giving visas to foreign workers whose skills are readily available in Nigeria.

Obasanjo vs Buhari: The Of Election 2019 | - on NAIJ.com TV