Politics
INEC To Monitor Campaign Funds
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it will beam its searchlight on politicians and political parties to track the sources of funds for their campaigns.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the plan public at a conference on political campaign finance organised by The Electoral Forum in Abuja on Friday.
According to Yakubu, the commission will set up teams to monitor election spending ahead of the polls.
Represented by Prof. Ajayi Kunle, who is INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of the Party Monitoring Committee, the INEC boss said the electoral empire would also monitor the movement of money on election days to tackle vote-buying at polling units.
Yakubu, who said that with the assistance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), commercial banks would be mandated to report all suspicious transactions ahead of the election, threatened to prosecute any bank that failed to cooperate.
When asked about the legal implications of the move, the INEC boss explained that the Electoral Act and the Constitution empower INEC to make any other regulations that will assist its efficiency.
“As long as we have not notified anybody that the race to the 2023 general election has started, we are not unaware of what anybody is doing. We follow the law strictly.
“We have not officially declared a notice for the 2023 general elections, but when we so declare, we will put our monitoring committees to motion like the Central Bank, Department of State Services (DSS), EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), the (commercial) banks and other law enforcement agencies. We have that plan already.
“Every candidate must be made to declare his bank asset. That is where they draw out their money, so we will make them present their statement of account right from the onset. We will make it mandatory for them to turn in their bank statement so that if they say they are doing billboard and the account remains the same, then, there is a problem,” Yakubu said.
On the issue of vote-buying, the INEC chairman said: “We are going to establish finance monitoring teams and they will be among the electorate but they (politicians and political parties) won’t know. We are going to do it in a way that the influence of money will be reduced because we want to make the electoral field a level playing ground for both rich and poor candidates and the electorate. Everybody will go on an equal economic level so that you won’t influence the voting pattern”.
Chairman of the Electoral Forum, Prof. Bayo Olukoshi, lamented the low implementation of the law on campaign financing, urging that the Electoral Act be amended to strengthen the monitoring mechanism.
Immediate past Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, identified lack of accountability and transparency in political campaign financing as key factors responsible for some challenges facing Nigeria’s electoral system.
“If we insist on accountability, then you can begin to somehow sanitise the way political parties raise funds. I think what has happened is that we paid too much attention to the issue of electronic transmission of results, and somehow they quickly passed the sections about raising the threshold. The civil societies did not pay much attention in their advocacy against this particular issue.
“Nevertheless, I wouldn’t advise or recommend that we delay the passage of the Bill on account of this particular issue. What we should be exploring are ways and means of ensuring that there is accountability about how these funds are raised and the spending ceiling is met as well as how the expenditure is done,” Jega said.
Earlier, the National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), YabagiSani, called for strict enforcement of the regulations on election funding so as to prevent monetisation of the electoral process and improve the level of trust between the electorate and political party candidates.
He said that failure to do so could debase the voting process to the level of what he described as “a commodity for the highest bidder”.
Sani, who was represented by IPAC’s National Treasurer, ObidikeOkolo, noted that the triple menace of transnational drug trafficking, money-laundering and terrorism had led to corruption as well as the destruction of democratic philosophy.
He said that the controversial Electoral Amendment Bill (2020), if eventually assented to by President MuhammaduBuhari, would usher in the upgrading of what a presidential candidate could spend at elections from N1billion to N5billion, representing a 400 per cent increment amongst others, adding there is need for its enforcement to ensure compliance with the provisions of the law on political campaign finance.
“A governorship candidate will now have the leverage of spending up to N1billion from the previous N200 million; a senatorial candidate, N100 million as against N40 million and a candidate for the House of Representatives, will henceforth be legally allowed to spend N70 million instead of N30 million in their election spending.
“However, political actors and commentators have been complaining that the new ceilings imply the monetisation of the election process beyond the low-income groups in spite of their other qualifications. In this context, it is feared that women, youths and people living with disabilities will be the most excluded from the political process and governance.”
Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has renamed The Polytechnic, Ibadan as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan, in honour of a late former governor of the State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo.
Dr Olunloyo, who died on April 6, 2025, was the pioneer Principal of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, while he also served as Governor of Oyo State between October 1 and December 31, 1983.
Governor Makinde made the announcement at the state interdenominational funeral service held yesterday in honour of the late former governor at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, Liberty Road, Ibadan.
Governor Makinde said Dr Olunloyo lived an eventful life, adding that his attainment and personality could not be summarised in one sentence.
“He was not a man we could summarise in one sentence. He was a scholar, a statesman, a technocrat, a lover of culture and, above all, a man of deep conviction.
“While giving the exhortation, I was listening to Baba Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu and he said in 1983, Baba became Governor of Oyo State. Though his time in office was brief, his election victory over a popular incumbent remains a powerful testament to the trust people gave him.
“I talked about preserving and digitising his library yesterday [Wednesday] as a mark of honour to Baba Olunloyo.
“Today, we will be giving Baba another honour to immortalise him. He was the first Principal of The Polytechnic, Ibadan; that institution will now be named Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, Ibadan.”
Earlier in his sermon, a retired Methodist Archbishop of Ilesa and Ibadan, Ayo Ladigbolu, described the late Olunloyo as a role model with intellectual inspiration and unassailable integrity.
The cleric said the deceased also demonstrated leadership in most superior quality during his lifetime.
In attendance were the state Deputy Governor, Chief Abdulraheem Bayo Lawal; wife of a former Military Governor of the old Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Dupe Jemibewon; wife of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief (Mrs) Mutiat Ladoja; former Deputy Governor and PDP Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; and former Deputy Governor, Hazeem Gbolarumi.
Others were the member representing Ibadan North-East/South-East Federal Constituency, Hon Abass Adigun Agboworin; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Oyo State Exco members; Chairman of Oyo State Elders’ Council, Dr Saka Balogun; Chairman of All Local Government Chairmen in Oyo State, Hon Sikiru Sanda; President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Adeniyi Ajewole; religious leaders and family members, among other dignitaries.
Ten members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) have countered the Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, on the reinstatement of Senator Samuel Anyanwu as National Secretary.
The dissenting members, led by the Deputy National Chairman ( South), Taofeek Arapaja, in a joint statement, said no organ of the opposition party could overturn the decision of the 99th meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC).
The dissenting NWC members include Arapaja; Setonji Koshoedo, Deputy National Secretary; Okechukwu Obiechina-Daniel, National Auditor; Debo Ologunagba, National Publicity Secretary; Ologunagba; Woyengikuro Daniel, National Financial Secretary and Ahmed Yayari Mohammed, National Treasurer.
Others are Chief Ali Odefa, National Vice Chairman (South East); Emmanuel Ogidi, Caretaker Committee Chairman (South South); Mrs. Amina Darasimi D. Bryhm, National Woman Leader and Ajisafe Kamoru Toyese, National Vice Chairman (South West).
The group also insisted that contrary to the position of the acting National Chairman, the 100th NEC meeting of the party would be held on June 30 as earlier scheduled.
The statement read: “The attention of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been drawn to a press briefing by the acting National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, today Wednesday, June 25, wherein he attempted to overturn the resolution of the 99th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting which scheduled the 100th NEC meeting for Monday, June 30.
“The acting National Chairman in the said press briefing also reportedly announced that Senator Samuel Anyanwu has been asked to resume as National Secretary of the party contrary to the resolution of the 99th NEC meeting, which referred all matters relating to the office of the National Secretary to the 100th NEC meeting.
“The pronouncements by the acting National Chairman have no foundation as no organ of the party (including the NWC), individual or group has the power to cancel, overrule, veto or vary the resolution of the National Executive Committee (NEC) under the Constitution of the PDP (as amended in 2017).
“For the avoidance of doubt, the NEC is the highest decision-making organ of the party, second only to the National Convention. By virtue of Section 31 (3) of the PDP Constitution, the resolution of the NEC to hold its 100th meeting on Monday June 30, is binding on all organs, officers, chapters and members of the party and no organ, group or individual can vary or veto this resolution of NEC.
“Furthermore, the claim by Damagum that Sen Anyanwu has been asked to resume office as the National Secretary of the party is, therefore, misleading being contrary to the resolution of NEC.
“In the light of the foregoing, the 100th NEC meeting as scheduled for Monday, June 30, has not been canceled or postponed.”
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, has fired back at former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, following the latter’s scathing criticism of President Tinubu’s administration and his 2027 re-election prospects.
In an interview on live television, Mallam El-Rufai said it would take a “miracle” for President Tinubu to be re-elected in 2027, citing an internal poll that purportedly shows a 91 percent disapproval rating for the president across key regions in the country, including the South-East and the North. He also claimed that President Tinubu’s disapproval rating in Lagos stood at 78 percent.
Reacting on Wednesday via a post on X (formerly Twitter), Mr Onanuga took a swipe at the ex-governor, quoting a harsh assessment of Mallam El-Rufai’s character from former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s memoir, My Watch.
“Nasir’s penchant for reputation savaging is almost pathological,” Mr Onanuga wrote, citing Chief Obasanjo’s words. “Why does he do it? Very early in my interaction with him, I appreciated his talent. At the same time, I recognised his weaknesses; the worst being his inability to be loyal to anybody or any issue consistently for long, but only to Nasir El-Rufai.”
The presidential adviser emphasised Chief Obasanjo’s remarks that Mallam El-Rufai often tries to elevate himself by diminishing others. “He lied brazenly, which he did to me, against his colleagues and so-called friends,” Mr Onanuga continued, quoting the former President. “I have heard of how he ruthlessly savaged the reputation of his uncle, a man who, in an African setting, was like a foster father to him.”
Chief Obasanjo, who appointed Mallam El-Rufai as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory between 2003 and 2007, did not mince words in the memoir, describing Mallam El-Rufai as suffering from “small man syndrome.”
Mr Onanuga’s post is seen as a direct rebuttal to Mallam El-Rufai’s recent criticism and growing opposition role. The former governor is reportedly playing a central role in forming a new coalition to challenge President Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
In March 2025, El-Rufai officially dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) and joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP), intensifying speculations about his 2027 political ambitions.
As the political rift deepens, Mallam El-Rufai remains one of the most vocal critics of the Tinubu administration, while Mr Onanuga and other presidential allies continue to push back against what they describe as “reckless” opposition rhetoric.