President Muhammadu Buhari has been described as probably
the least corrupt African leader, following the public declaration
of his assets, The Washington Post has said.

Buhari’s predecessor, Goodluck Jonathan, refused during his
administration to make public his asset which was declared to
the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Ex-President Umaru Yar’Adua, who Jonathan succeeded, was
worth $5m.

“By the standards of sub-Saharan African leaders, Nigeria’s
President Muhammadu Buhari is dirt-poor. The question on
many minds is this: Is Buhari, Nigeria’s former military ruler
and ex-head of the oil ministry, telling the truth?” the paper
asked.

According to a statement by the President’s Senior Special
Assistant, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, on Thursday, the
President has about N30m in his only one bank account with
Union Bank Plc, while the Vice President has a balance of
N94m and $94,000.

Buhari’s assets consist of houses in his hometown, Daura,
Kano, Kaduna and Abuja, as well as his farm in Daura. The
President equally declared his investment in Berger Paints and
landed property in Kano and Port Harcourt.

The Washington Post added, “Corruption, after all, is a major
problem in Africa’s largest economy. Buhari himself has
publicly said that more than $150 billion is missing from the
government’s coffers. Still, the public declaration appears to be
an attempt to show some much-needed transparency.

Buhari
was elected in March largely by promising that he wouldn’t
tolerate corruption.
“What is clear is that Buhari has done what his predecessors –
and most other African leaders – have never done.”