President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been advised to sign an Executive Order on unexplained wealth by Nigerians.
The Senator representing Borno South in the 10th National Assembly, Ali Ndume, gave the advice during an interview on Channels Television on Sunday, October 29, 2023.
Ndume believes there is a need for laws that will compel any individual with no verifiable source of wealth to explain themselves to the authorities, stressing that similar laws operate in the United Kingdom and other countries to tackle corruption.
Talking about his previous efforts to introduce a similar piece of legislature in Nigeria, the lawmaker said, “I have tried several times, but you know, there were excuses here and there.”
He, therefore, proposed that the executive should lead the effort to make such laws while urging Tinubu to sign an executive order regarding that in the interim.
He added: “I think the best way to get this across is when the bill comes from the executive or in the interim, the current president should sign an executive bill on unexplained wealth.”
Ndume stressed that the level of unexplained wealth in the country, especially among politicians and civil servants, remains alarming, and some laws are needed to combat that.
He “I know of civil servants that live in houses that not only their income, their salaries, or their life pension – assuming they would live in this world for 90 years or 100 years – cannot buy.
“The same thing with some of our politicians, especially the politically exposed persons like ministers, you find, as you rightly said, some of them come to the National Assembly, and suddenly there is so much money,” he noted.
The Senate Chief Whip also called on Nigerians to demand better accountability from public officials while reiterating that politicians are public servants.
“The public are those that are supposed to put us on our toes to represent them and account for our actions,” he added.