BY MAYOWA SAMUEL
Running a political party in Nigeria, just like any other part of the world, demands lots of logistics and huge funding. This is to enable candidates and party officials to travel to different states for rallies, mobilise supporters to those rallies, fund the purchase of vehicles, print souvenirs like T-shirts and caps as well as posters, place adverts in newspapers, online media, TV and radio stations, among others. It is, therefore, generally agreed that it requires donations from members, supporters, corporate organisations and others to raise the necessary funds. .
However, in a world where financial proceeds from terrorism, drug dealing, and other crimes are covertly used to fund philanthropy, legitimate business corporations, political parties, and so on to achieve set secret agenda and even vice-versa, it becomes imperative for the Independent National Electoral Commission to insist on knowing the sources of the funds political parties use to prosecute their campaigns, which is also a bid to help stem money laundering during these campaigns.
There have been debates in various quarters about the legality of the sources of crowdfunding and diaspora funding for political parties and their candidates to enable them to properly prosecute their campaigns. The new Electoral Act 2022, already has provisions guiding how political parties and candidates are allowed to source their funds.
Section 88 of the 2022 Electoral Act limits election expenses on candidates. Sub (2) says the maximum election expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall not exceed N5bn (formerly N1bn); (3) The maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate in respect of governorship election shall not exceed N1bn. (formerly N200m); (4) The maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate in respect of senatorial and House of Representatives seats shall not exceed N100m and N70m respectively formally N40m and N20m respectively); (5) In the case of State Assembly election, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N30m (formally N10m).
Additionally, subsection (6) stipulates that “In the case of a chairmanship election to an Area Council, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N30m formally N10m) sub. (7) says in the case of Councillorship election to an Area Council, the maximum amount of election expenses to be incurred by a candidate shall not exceed N5m. (formally N1m) and subsection (8) says no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N50m (formally N1m).
To serve as punishment for those who contravene the law, “Subsection (10) says “Any individual who knowingly acts in contravention of subsection (9) is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of nine months or both.”
While sub. (11) says “An accountant who falsifies, or conspires or aids a candidate to forge or falsify a document relating to his expenditure at an election or receipt or donation for the election or in any way aids and abets the contravention of the provisions of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of three years or both.”
It is important to note that the formal circulation of the newly redesigned naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria which will commence on December 15, will play a huge role in determining the process of operation of the political parties’ campaign funds.
Last Tuesday, the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), at the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos, launched a mobile channel for crowdfunding for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu-Kashim Shettima presidential project ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The crowdfunding channel has a QR code-enabled platform which will give voters who believe and share the vision of Tinubu-Shettima presidential ticket to donate towards realisation of the project. The APC presidential campaign team is targeting to raise N5 billion from the platform known as “BlessMi”.
For Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress, on Thursday, announced the launch of the donation platform for his 2023 presidential campaign titled, “Support The Future With N1K Only”, and with the caption , “We ask that you support our campaign to defeat the insensitive, inhuman, corrupt and incompetent political hegemonies. We need your support to put LIBERTY on the BALLOT!”
On his part, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi in October, announced the official campaign website for donations to his presidential ambition. He wrote, “I invite every member of the OBIdient Family, and every supporter of our march to a new Nigeria to visit the official campaign website for the Obi-Datti Campaign organisation. You can use that medium to support and donate in cash & kind to the campaign obidatticampaign.com -PO.”
In another announcement on Thursday, the former Anambra governor opened another platform for donations saying “My Fellow Nigerians, I thank every member of the OBIdient Family and every supporter for their immeasurable support in our march to a new Nigeria. We would not have gotten this far without your support.
“We call on you once again to donate to our campaign fundraising accounts attached, to help make the new Nigeria of our dreams a reality. Together we can do it. – PO,” he added.
With this development, INEC’s willingness to sanction political parties who fail to disclose the sources of their campaign funding, especially those who spend funds received from “unknown sources” is yet to be ascertained. However, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in September, warned all registered political parties to disclose the sources of their campaign funds and abide by the rules guiding campaign financing and spending limits.
“The party also has its own limitations as to what it can spend including where the money is coming from and the responsibility for full disclosure for transparency. The limits are in the law actually. These are in the law and they must be obeyed and respected,” Yakubu said.
“If you receive funds from a source you cannot identify, you should turn in such funds to the INEC. The law is also clear that every registered political party in Nigeria must and shall maintain proper books of accounts where it will record the sources of funds, money received, expenditure it has made, and the place where it received such funds from”
Yakubu added that parties can’t receive financial donations from outside the country and that if there is any money received by any party from outside the country, such funds must be remitted to the commission.
Furthermore, Festus Okoye, INEC spokesperson, while buttressing the chairman’s warning to political parties not to spend funds from anonymous sources, explained how the electoral umpire will monitor crowdfunding for campaign organisations
Okoye said, “The law is very clear. The law says that no political party is obligated to receive funds from sources it cannot testify to — anonymous sources. And the law is very clear that when people donate funds to you, you, should get their names, know their addresses, and so on.
“If you receive funds from a source you cannot identify, you should turn in such funds to the INEC. The law is also clear that every registered political party in Nigeria must and shall maintain proper books of accounts where it will record the sources of funds, money received, expenditure it has made, and the place where it received such funds from.
“If a political party receives funds that it cannot account for or does not know its source, that particular political party ought to report to INEC that it received such funds.”
According to Section 225 (3) of the 1999 constitution, “No political party shall — hold or possess any funds or other assets outside Nigeria; or be entitled to retain any funds or assets remitted or sent to it from outside Nigeria.”
Responding to the constitutional provision on campaign funding, Okoye said, “The guiding electoral legal framework for this election remains the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act of 2022, the regulations and guidelines rolled out by INEC..
“If you look at section 225 of the constitution, it makes it very clear that no registered political party in Nigeria shall possess any fund outside the country. In other words, a political party cannot open an account and have money remitted into that particular account outside the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Secondly, it makes it clear that no political party shall, under any circumstance, retain any funds remitted to it from outside the country and if such funds are remitted to the political parties from outside the country that political party has constitutional and legal obligation to turn in such funds to INEC within a period of 21 days from the date of receipt of such funds.
“That is the law and the constitutional stipulation, and the political parties are aware of this stipulation.
“As far as section 225 of the 1999 constitution is concerned, it did not make any distinction. It says you should not receive funds from outside.
“If you receive funds from Niger, Chad and Benin Republic, it goes with the same issue because it seems to me that when people are talking about not receiving funds, they are just looking at funds received from places like the US, Germany and France and the rest of them. But the law says you should not receive funds from outside the country.”
Also, INEC Administrative Secretary in Sokoto State, Hauwa Kangiwa, at a stakeholders meeting in Sokoto disclosed that the electoral body is working with stakeholders to track campaign finances during and after the electioneering period.
