The Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on Saturday said he would not make his declaration of assets public because no Nigerian law, for now, makes such mandatory.
Besides, he said he declared his assets five times, which could be confirmed at the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Jonathan, the immediate past governor of Bayelsa State, also declined to give the state�s debt profile.
The VP spoke at an interactive forum with journalists at the Government House, Yenagoa in company with the state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, among other top government officials.
A senior Bayelsa state government official, however, told Sunday Punch on the condition of anonymity that the state�s debt is put at N58 billion.
But Sylva had said the VP left N20billion asset in investment portfolio.
Jonathan said, �There is nobody as at the time he leaves government, if you want to be frank, who can state exactly how much that is left behind or how much that they are owing.
�Even if I know, it will be wrong for me to tell you now that the governor has been here for almost two months. �I remember in Oyo state where the governor said he left over N20 billion and the governor who took over said he met an empty treasury. I think it is not necessary.
�Even as I speak now, if I ask Sylva (Governor Timipre) how much money is the asset base of Bayelsa in terms of investments in banks, he will not tell you.�
On the public declaration of his assets, the VP said, �It is not my duty to come and publish. If the law says so, I will, but it has not.�
Sylva, in his remarks, described the Otuoke, Ogbia LGA-born VP as a very modest person, who had done so much for the state.
The Bayelsa governor stressed that what he saw on the ground in the state was far in excess of what he expected, adding that a huge asset base was left behind.