2019: INEC Vows to Sanction Parties over Excess Campaign Funds

 

 

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said it would, henceforth, wield the big stick on any political party that overshoots the legal ceiling for campaign funding.

 

This is as the commission revealed that about eight million Permanent Voter Cards, PVCs, were yet to be collected by their respective owners.

“We haven’t made much progress in the last two years but we have made elaborate arrangements with the states to ensure that the cards are collected,” said Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, the commission’s chairman. Yakubu spoke when the European Union Election Follow-up Mission to Nigeria, Civil Society Organisations and other stakeholders compared notes with the INEC at a roundtable organised by European Union delegation to Nigeria and West Africa, weekend.

 

On the disclosure of party finances, Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, said of 46 registered political parties, only five had so far rendered accounts to the commission.

 

While conceding that tracking party finances could be challenging, the INEC boss stated: “Where a political party comes out openly to raise funds beyond the limits provided for in the constitution, the commission will apply sanctions.”

 

In its earlier appraisal of the 2015 general elections, INEC had said while the “core cost” of the election was $547 million, political parties and their candidates spent between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Section 91 of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended, provides that a presidential candidate can spend a maximum amount of N1 billion, while a governorship candidate can spend a maximum amount of N200 million.

 

The Electoral Act also provides that a senatorial candidate can spend only a maximum amount of N40 million, while a House of Representatives candidate can spend a maximum amount of N20 million.

 

For state Assembly election, the Act sets the limit of N10 million, while local government chairmanship and councillorship elections had limits of N10 million and N1 million respectively.