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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 election to publicly declare their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and, where applicable, unmarried children under 18.
The candidates listed by SERAP are President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC); Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC); Peter Obi of the New Democratic Congress (NDC); Senator Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC); Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP); Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick of the National Democratic Party (NDP); and Chukwu Anita Zugwai of the Young Progressives Party (YPP).
Others are Rufai Adekunle Omoaje of the Action Alliance (AA); Adenuga Sunday of the Boot Party; Memeh Samuel of the Democratic Labour Alliance (DLA); Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP); Okereke Sunday Chibuzor of the Labour Party (LP); Okereke Iken Esther of the National Rescue Movement (NRM); Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party (ADP); Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP); Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP); Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM); and Yusuf Kabiru of the Allied Peoples Party (APP).
SERAP also urged the candidates to publicly and unequivocally reject vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the election.
The organisation, in a statement signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, and shared on its X account on Sunday, called on the candidates to direct their political parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to offer or distribute money, gifts or other material inducements in exchange for votes.
SERAP said candidates seeking Nigeria’s highest elected office should go beyond the bare legal minimum by voluntarily embracing higher standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.
The organisation said candidates asking Nigerians to entrust them with enormous constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, appointments and security institutions should be willing to demonstrate, before seeking their votes, that their personal financial affairs can withstand reasonable public scrutiny.
SERAP urged the candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of their significant assets, saying such disclosure would enable voters to assess potential conflicts of interest and significant sources of wealth.
According to the organisation, voluntary pre-election disclosure would also strengthen public confidence in the electoral process and establish a baseline against which future changes in candidates’ assets could be assessed if they were elected.
SERAP insisted that Nigeria’s democracy belongs to its citizens, stressing that votes must not be bought and public office must not be treated as private property.
It said Nigerians should be able to choose their leaders based on policies, competence, integrity, character and vision for the country, rather than on which candidate could spend the most money.
“Candidates asking Nigerians to entrust them with enormous constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, appointments and security institutions should be willing, before asking for their votes, to demonstrate that their personal financial affairs can withstand reasonable public scrutiny,” SERAP said.
The organisation said the 2027 presidential election offered political leaders an opportunity to demonstrate that public office was a public trust.
It added that candidates who voluntarily disclose their assets and reject vote-buying would demonstrate their willingness to uphold the transparency and accountability they promise to deliver if elected.
