BEST PRACTICE 3.4: DECLARATION AND PUBLICATION OF ASSETS – A SIGNAL OF PRESIDENT YAR’ADUA’S COMMITMENT TO TRANSPARENCY President Yar’Adua adhered to constitutional requirements and declared his assets and liabilities to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). He went beyond the call of duty and made his declaration public, in fulfilment of a campaign pledge to the people of Nigeria. He has also called for the constitutional provision of immunity for executives and their deputies at state and federal levels to be lifted so as to enable the prosecution of corrupt leaders. President Yar’Adua also sent strong signals that he would respect the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary when he promised to abide by the ruling of the presidential elections tribunal in the matter of the presidential elections case against him, regardless of the outcome. He has also highlighted the need to focus on electoral reforms, and he appointed the Electoral Reform Panel to review the electoral system soon after his election in August 2007. Source: CRM findings, February 2008. 114 311. The constitution requires the declaration of assets by a number of principal office holders in the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, including the vice president, members of the Cabinet, members of the Senate and the National Assembly (including the speaker and the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives), members of state houses of assembly and the speakers and deputy speakers, governors and commissioners – sections 185 and 194 – and all judicial officers. The CRM could not establish whether all those required to declare assets and liabilities complied with the constitutional mandate. There was also no indication whether such declarations are verified by some independent body and whether there is any kind of follow-up at the point of exit from office. 312. Of the three arms of government, the CSAR indicates that the judiciary is perceived as less prone to corruption than the executive and legislature. 313. Although the INEC is legally and structurally independent, during the interactive sessions a number of stakeholders castigated its role in the electoral process as being characterised by corruption, ineffectiveness and inefficiency, and as being perhaps the principal cause of the deterioration in ethical conduct and behaviour among the political actors in Nigeria. The INEC is widely blamed for the perceived flawed elections of 2007. 314. The structure and operation of political parties were persistently highlighted as corrupt, and parties were seen as institutions that hampered the growth of a culture of transparent and representative democracy in Nigeria. The unbridled use of money to secure electoral success, and the phenomenon of ‘godfatherism’ and ‘sit-tightism’, deprives the people of the unfettered opportunity to elect representatives that will truly carry out their mandate. 315. Stakeholders were overwhelmingly concerned about law enforcement, and viewed the police as a source of daily harassment. Complaints about police extortion of money from motorists and disregard for human rights