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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) wants INEC to state whether it has exercised its statutory power to limit political contributions under the Electoral Act, 2026, and immediately publish any limits prescribed for individuals, political parties and candidates ahead of the 2027 elections.
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SERAP is asking INEC to release parties’ latest financial statements, audited accounts, sources of funds and election expenditure returns, as well as the Commission’s examination and audit reports for 2023 to 2025.
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The group wants details of how the electoral commission will monitor cash and in-kind donations, digital and social-media advertising, consultants and third-party spending, warning that undisclosed funds could give some candidates an unfair electoral advantage.
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SERAP has warned that it will take appropriate legal action if INEC fails to provide the requested information within seven days, citing persistent concerns over weak disclosure, excessive campaign spending and inadequate enforcement of political-finance rules.
August 23, (THEWILL) — The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Professor Joash Amupitan, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), “to urgently disclose whether the Commission has exercised its statutory power to prescribe limits on political contributions under section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, and, if so, to publish the applicable limits and widely communicate them to political parties, candidates, donors and the Nigerian public.”
In a Freedom of Information request dated August 22, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation also demanded details of the systems, personnel and procedures INEC has put in place to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with political contribution and campaign expenditure limits during the ongoing preparations for the 2027 electoral process.
SERAP further wants the Commission to disclose its methodology for monitoring political financing, including how it intends to identify and address cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social media financing, third-party expenditure and donations made through intermediaries that could be used to circumvent statutory limits.
The organisation said greater transparency in political financing was essential to ensuring that the 2027 elections were conducted on a level playing field and that Nigerians were able to make free and informed political choices.
SERAP’s demand comes as political parties, candidates and their supporters intensify preparations for the 2027 general elections, with political activities already involving substantial expenditure on mobilisation, rallies, media campaigns, digital advertising and other election-related activities.
INEC Must Account For Political Finance
SERAP said INEC’s constitutional responsibility goes beyond receiving financial statements from political parties.
“INEC’s constitutional responsibility is not simply to receive financial statements from political parties. The Constitution requires the Commission to examine political-party finances, conduct necessary investigations and report to the National Assembly,” it said.
The organisation said publishing the relevant reports would allow Nigerians to determine whether the Commission had effectively discharged those constitutional and statutory responsibilities.
According to SERAP, voters, journalists and civil society organisations cannot effectively scrutinise political financing if applicable limits are not readily accessible or if there is no publicly known mechanism for monitoring compliance.
“The increasing monetisation of Nigeria’s elections, alongside the potential misuse of state institutions, poses serious threats to democratic integrity and electoral competition”, the organisation warned.
It said the information being requested would enable citizens to identify excessive, undisclosed or potentially illicit political financing before such funds could distort electoral competition, rather than only after votes had been cast.
SERAP described effective political-finance regulation as an important safeguard for constitutional democracy, equality of political participation, freedom of expression and association, electoral integrity and citizens’ meaningful participation in public affairs.
Focus On Electoral Act
At the heart of SERAP’s demand is Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026. According to the organisation, Section 91(1) provides that INEC “shall have power to place limitation on the amount of money or other assets which an individual can contribute to a political party or candidate and to demand such information on the amount donated and source of the funds.”
SERAP said Section 91(2) provides sanctions where an individual, candidate or political party exceeds the applicable limit prescribed by INEC. It described the statutory power given to the Commission as an important safeguard against excessive financial influence over political parties and candidates.
“Where INEC has exercised its power under section 91, Nigerians are entitled to know the applicable contribution limits and how the Commission intends to ensure compliance with them”, SERAP said.
The group therefore wants INEC to clarify whether it has prescribed contribution limits and, if so, publish them immediately in a prominent and easily accessible location, including on its website.
It also wants the Commission to explain the methodology and criteria used in determining the limits and whether it considered the need to prevent excessive financial influence, ensure fair electoral competition, address risks of corruption and illicit political financing and protect the integrity of the electoral process.
Party Accounts Under Scrutiny
SERAP is also seeking access to the financial records of Nigeria’s political parties. The organisation wants INEC to disclose the latest detailed statements submitted by political parties on their assets and liabilities, sources of funds and other assets, and expenditure.
It is also demanding publication of political parties’ latest financial records, including annual statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns covering 2023 to 2025.
The group further wants INEC to publish its Section 225 and 226 examination and audit reports, including annual reports submitted to the National Assembly between 2023 and 2025.
SERAP said Section 226(1) of the Constitution imposes an annual obligation on INEC to prepare and submit to the National Assembly a report on the accounts and balance sheets of political parties.
Section 226(2), it added, requires the Commission to conduct investigations necessary to enable it to form an opinion on whether proper books of account and proper records have been maintained by political parties.
It said Section 226(3) gives INEC and its duly authorised agents access to the books, accounts and vouchers of political parties and enables them to require information and explanations necessary for the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities.
SERAP said publication of the reports would enable Nigerians to scrutinise the financial affairs of political parties and assess whether the Commission had taken appropriate action where breaches were identified.
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Campaign Spending And Digital Money
SERAP also wants INEC to explain how it intends to monitor political financing during the campaign period, particularly as campaign expenditure increasingly extends beyond traditional rallies and media advertisements.
The organisation specifically identified cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social media advertising, political and campaign consultants and third-party campaign expenditure as areas requiring effective monitoring.
It said political parties, candidates and their supporters were already mobilising resources, soliciting contributions, organising political activities, purchasing media and digital advertising, holding rallies and other events, and incurring campaign-related expenditure.
“INEC should disclose how it intends to monitor political financing during the campaign period”, SERAP said.
The group argued that statutory limits on political contributions and election expenditure were intended not merely to facilitate retrospective accounting after an election, but to prevent excessive financial influence while political competition was taking place.
It expressed concern that Nigeria had long faced serious challenges in regulating political finance, including excessive campaign spending, opaque sources of political funding, weak disclosure and reporting, and limited enforcement of statutory spending and contribution rules.
SERAP said previous assessments of Nigerian elections had identified significant gaps between the legal framework and its practical implementation.
According to the organisation, concerns included the circumvention of spending limits, inadequate regulation and disclosure of political party expenditure, and the failure to identify and effectively sanction violations.
“These concerns are particularly significant given the scale of campaign expenditure and changes in the statutory spending and contribution thresholds under Nigeria’s constitutional and evolving electoral framework”, it said.
SERAP is also demanding that INEC disclose the political parties that submitted their reports of contributions received following the 2023 general elections.
The group wants the Commission to state the dates the reports were submitted and disclose what action was taken against parties that failed to submit the reports within the statutory deadline. It specifically referred to reported non-compliance by a majority of the parties that sponsored candidates in the 2023 elections.
SERAP said such disclosure was necessary to determine whether existing political-finance rules were being enforced consistently and whether parties that breached reporting requirements faced meaningful consequences.
It argued that the absence of clear and effective sanctions for default had weakened INEC’s ability to enforce compliance with political-finance rules.
Seven-Day Ultimatum
SERAP has given INEC seven days from the receipt and/or publication of its letter to provide the requested information.
“We would be grateful if the requested information is provided within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and INEC to comply with our request in the public interest”, it threatened
The organisation’s demands come against the backdrop of INEC’s release of the Notice of Election and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 General Elections, marking another formal stage in preparations for the polls.
SERAP also cited Nigeria’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
It noted that Article 25 of the ICCPR guarantees citizens the right to participate in public affairs and to vote and be elected at genuine periodic elections, while Article 9 of the African Charter protects the right to receive information and Article 13 guarantees the right to participate freely in the government of one’s country.
SERAP said transparency in political financing was therefore central to protecting democratic participation and preventing financial power from distorting electoral competition.
The organisation maintained that Nigerians should be able to know who is financing political parties and candidates, how much is being contributed, how the funds are being spent and whether statutory limits are being respected.
With political actors already mobilising resources for the 2027 contest, SERAP said Nigerians should not be left to discover the scale and sources of campaign financing only after the votes have been cast.
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