Professor Chidi Odinkalu had on Tuesday asked the Right to Know Initiative to publish his attested assets declaration.

The newly appointed Chairperson of the Governing Council of the National Human Rights Commi-ssion, NHRC, sworn in late last year, is the first public official appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to declare his assets publicly.

Prof. Odinkalu has four bank accounts, two of which are with Standard Chartered Bank in Nigeria – one with N94,000 and the other with $11,700.

He’s also got two Barclays Bank accounts in the United Kingdom, containing £7,752 and £4,562 respectively; and an overdrawn Royal Bank of Scotland account.

Also declared were buildings owned by Mr. Odinkalu, including a mortgaged three-bedroom mid-terrace house in Edmonton, London and a four-bedroom semi-detached house in Lekki, Lagos.

The NHRC chairman also owns two vehicles, a Toyota RAV 4 purchased in 2004, and a Kia Rio purchased in 2005.

Professor Odinkalu further declared his personal pension plan managed by Friends Provident; shares and stocks worth about N3 million; 27 KVA Nioda generator, 7.5 KVA Inverter, and over 10,000 books, which he calls his “invaluable”.

Ene Enonche, National Co-ordinator, R2K, in a statement, said: “This disclosure is important in underlining the critical role NHRC must play to ensure effective implementation of the Freedom of Information Act. It is noteworthy that Prof. Odinkalu, who was a leading advocate of the FoI Act as a private citizen, has not shirked from the implications of the Act for him as a public official.

“Asset declarations are intended to protect the interests of both the public officers and the public whom they serve. Nigerians have a constitutional right to verify these facts, as government officials are elected and appointed to act as custodians of the public interests and must ensure they do not compromise their positions by seeking to wrongfully profit from public office.”