The Presidency had challenged the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Hassan Kukah, to produce evidence where President Muhammadu Buhari promised to publicly declare his asset if elected as President.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said this at a public presentation and launch of a book authored by the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri.
Bishop Kukah, who was represented at the book launch, while presenting a public lecture titled ‘Is Corruption a Biological Necessity or a Political Invention’, wondered why the President had not declared his asset publicly as he promised.
Reacting, Adesina said the President told him in 2015 that he never promised to declare his asset publicly at no time.
“I remember, I was appointed on May 31st 2015 and when I resumed work on June 1st 2015 in a private meeting with the President, one of the first questions I asked him was, these promise about public declaration of asset, when are you doing it?
“And then he (President Buhari) asked me, can you please show me where that promise was ever made? And low and behold, we searched everywhere, there was no place where the president ever said he will do a public declaration and he told me what does the law requires, the law requires you to declare your asset and that is what I will do. Yet since that year, they keep repeating that he (President Buhari) promised a public declaration,” Adesina said.
He, however, challenged Bishop Kukah to present evidence to substantiate his claims that President Buhari promised to declare his asset if elected.
“Sir can you tell Bishop Kukah that I challenge him to produce that promise by the president because the president stands by it till tomorrow that he never promised a public declaration.
“In 2015, he made his asset public, in 2019, he had declared, he has chosen not to go public, he has not broken any law. So please let’s not continue to repeat what is untrue,” he added.
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