The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to disclose whether it has set limits on 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 asked INEC to publish any donation limits and make them available to political parties, candidates, donors and the public.
The organisation said the disclosure was necessary to promote transparency and prevent excessive financial influence from undermining the electoral process.
SERAP asked INEC Chairman, Professor Joash Amupitan, to disclose the systems, personnel and procedures the commission has in place to monitor and enforce compliance with political contribution and campaign spending limits. It also wants INEC to explain how it plans to track cash and non-cash donations, digital and social media financing, third-party spending, and donations routed through intermediaries.
According to SERAP, Nigerians should know how political financing is being monitored before the 2027 elections rather than waiting until after the polls. The group argued that INEC’s constitutional responsibility goes beyond merely receiving financial statements from political parties, noting that the Constitution requires the commission to examine party finances, carry out investigations where necessary, and report to the National Assembly.
SERAP raised concern over what it called the persistent failure of political parties to properly disclose campaign contributions, describing the non-compliance as systemic and blaming the absence of clear sanctions for weakening INEC’s ability to enforce the rules.
The organisation said Nigeria continues to grapple with excessive campaign spending, unclear sources of political funding, poor disclosure practices, and weak enforcement of existing political-finance regulations. It also warned that spending limits could be circumvented, with violations rarely identified or sanctioned.
SERAP stressed that statutory spending and contribution limits should not be treated as mere post-election accounting requirements, but as safeguards meant to check excessive financial influence while political competition is still ongoing.
The group threatened legal action against INEC if the commission fails to provide the requested information within seven days of receiving or publishing the letter.
SERAP’s key requests to INEC:
- Disclose and publish any political contribution limits prescribed under Section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2026.
- Disclose the latest political parties’ detailed statements on assets, liabilities, sources of funds, and expenditures submitted to INEC.
- Publish the latest political parties’ financial records, including annual statements, audited accounts and election expenditure returns for 2023–2025.
- Publish its Section 225 and 226 examination and audit reports, including annual reports submitted to the National Assembly for 2023–2025.
- Disclose any enforcement actions arising from political finance and expenditure violations.
- Disclose its 2027 political-finance monitoring plan, including arrangements for real-time monitoring and cooperation with anti-corruption, financial-intelligence, regulatory and law-enforcement agencies.
- Disclose the political parties that submitted reports of contributions received following the 2023 General Elections, the dates of submission, and action taken against parties that failed to submit within the statutory deadline.
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