The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disclose and publish the limits it has prescribed for political donations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a Freedom of Information request dated August 22, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the INEC Chairman, Prof. Joash Amupitan, to disclose whether the commission had exercised its statutory powers under Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026, to limit the amount individuals may contribute to political parties or candidates.
The organisation also asked INEC to publish the applicable limits and communicate them widely to political parties, candidates, donors and the Nigerian public.
SERAP said transparency in political financing was critical to ensuring a level playing field in the 2027 elections and enabling voters to make free and informed political choices.
It urged the commission to disclose the systems, personnel and procedures it had established to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with political contribution and campaign expenditure limits during the electoral process.
The organisation also demanded details of INEC’s methodology for monitoring political financing, including how it planned to track cash and in-kind contributions, digital and social media financing, third-party expenditure and donations channelled through intermediaries to circumvent statutory limits.
According to SERAP, INEC’s constitutional responsibility extends beyond receiving financial statements from political parties.
“The Constitution requires the Commission to examine political-party finances, conduct necessary investigations and report to the National Assembly,” the organisation said, urging the commission to publish the relevant reports so Nigerians could assess whether it had discharged its constitutional and statutory obligations.
SERAP warned that the increasing monetisation of elections, coupled with the potential misuse of state institutions, posed serious threats to democratic integrity and fair electoral competition.
“Voters, journalists and civil-society organisations cannot effectively scrutinise political financing if the applicable limits are not easily accessible or if there is no publicly known mechanism for monitoring compliance,” it said.
The organisation argued that disclosure of political financing would enable citizens to identify excessive, undisclosed or potentially illicit funding before such resources could distort electoral competition.
SERAP further raised concerns over Nigeria’s longstanding challenges in regulating political finance, including excessive campaign spending, opaque funding sources, weak disclosure mechanisms and limited enforcement of statutory contribution and expenditure rules.
It said previous assessments of Nigerian elections had highlighted gaps between the legal framework and its implementation, particularly the circumvention of spending limits and the failure to identify and sanction violations effectively.
“Citizens cannot meaningfully exercise their political rights if undisclosed or excessive financial resources are allowed to distort the political process,” SERAP said.
The organisation specifically cited Section 91(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, which empowers INEC to limit the amount of money or other assets an individual may contribute to a political party or candidate and to demand information on the amount donated and source of funds.
It urged INEC to explain whether it had exercised the power and, if so, the methodology and criteria used in determining the limits.
SERAP also invoked Sections 225 and 226 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which provide for the examination of political parties’ accounts, investigations and submission of reports to the National Assembly.
Among other demands, SERAP asked INEC to publish the latest detailed statements of political parties’ assets, liabilities, sources of funds and expenditure; annual statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns for 2023 to 2025; and its political-finance examination and audit reports submitted to the National Assembly during the period.
It also demanded disclosure of enforcement actions taken over political-finance violations and INEC’s 2027 political-finance monitoring plan, including arrangements for real-time or near-real-time monitoring and cooperation with anti-corruption, financial-intelligence, regulatory and law-enforcement agencies.
The organisation further asked INEC to disclose the political parties that submitted reports of contributions received after the 2023 general elections, the dates of submission and actions taken against parties that failed to comply with the statutory deadline.
SERAP gave INEC seven days to provide the requested information, warning that it would take “all appropriate legal actions” to compel compliance if the commission failed to respond.
The organisation said effective regulation of political finance remained an important safeguard for constitutional democracy, equality of political participation, freedom of expression and association, electoral integrity and citizens’ meaningful participation in public affairs.
