How Current Asset Declaration Method Is Fueling Corruption –Rotimi

What is asset declaration all about?

Asset declaration is basically a system where multipurpose tools are aimed at preventing conflict of interests, detecting unjustified assets and building broader integrity of public assets. Asset declaration, therefore, combines prevention and enforcement of purposes for the purpose of ensuring that the right thing is done at the right time and giving true integrity and information that can be seen by everyone.

Given your definition above, is the practice of asset declaration serving its purpose or not?

No! The reasons are because the law empowers only one body, that is the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV) to give value to any asset and unfortunately it has not be followed duly. The reasons are not far-fetched. They have not been consulting Estate Surveyors and Valuers in asset declaration. Before you can declare your assets, the law governing us in Nigeria as at today says it is only an Estate Surveyor and Valuer that must give value. And we have a situation where people just ascribe value to an asset. It is absolutely wrong and that is why most often than not, you have not been seeing the true reflection of what it is supposed to be. That has always been the case in Nigeria.

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The agency saddled with asset declaration in Nigeria is the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). Are you aware whether it has professional Estate Surveyors and Valuers in its employ as civil servants who fix the assets before their declarations in line with the law?

I will respond by saying that it is absolutely a wrong conduct in the first place because you cannot be a judge in your own case. Why am I saying that? First of all, you are expected to get an external opinion. I know that in the Ministry of Works and so many other Ministries, they have registered Estate Surveyors and Valuers, which is right, they are my professional colleagues. But at the same time, the right thing is you need to juxtapose information, check with what an independent opinion has given to you vis-a-vis what you have gotten internally. That is how you can always have a true reflection. Even in doing valuation, you must always test informations round the market.

So, with the way things are done presently, are we missing out on anything?

We are missing out entirely. The government is missing out, the public is missing out, everyone is missing out. I want to tell you going into the 2023 elections, the truth is we have been seeing people giving value and declaring assets. Have we ever asked ourselves ‘who has actually done this valuation?’ We are saddled with a responsibility and we are guided by rules and ethics, which means we must at every time uphold the trust of code of professional conduct to ensure that core professional values and fundamental ethics in practice of estate surveyors and valuers are adhered to. We are regulated by the Estate Surveyors and Valuers Registration Board of Nigeria (ESVARBON). So, I cannot overvalue or undervalue any asset. The moment I do that, the Board reserves the right to make me not to practise anymore or to suspend me as the case may be.

So, if anyone has overvalued or undervalued his or her asset, what is the consequence of such action?

That is Estoppel. I can tell you without mincing words that the person might have envisaged to have X, Y, Z value and if you are unable to nip it ab initio, you have also allowed corruption from inception. Therefore, it is always very important that we know the networth of an individual before they become our representatives. We have always been missing out in the area of not getting true information, and an information you don’t have today can be used for or against you tomorrow. Therefore, I can say without mincing words here that our government needs to do more in the area of engaging professionals especially estate surveyors and valuers in ensuring that they get true value. Take it, it affects so many areas of our life. For instance, when they say they want to have a Bail Bond and they say go and get a property worth N500 million in Maitama or Asokoro District of Abuja, who has actually given the value? I can decide to go and bring a property because it is in Maitama and it is worth only N100 million and I tell the court that it is worth N500 million. So, how would the court be able to check that it’s the right information or not?

What is ESVARBON doing as a regulator and government agency to the right these wongs?

I will say that the body has been trying. ESVARBON has been doing a whole lot of advocacy. Part of the reasons why every time they come up with new rules and regulations to guide our profession. They also ensure that we do the righ things. They have been engaging the government but I know they can do more and they will always do more. The role of ESVARBON is that of a bridge builder and they bridge the gap between us the professionals and the government because they are intermediaries. They ensure that the right information is given and the right rules and regulations are always adhered to. There is a whole lot of advocacy going on.

Also, at our level at the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, we have been engaging the Code of Conduct Bureau, we have been engaging all sorts of government parastatals, even the courts, to ensure that information that is known is power.