Politicians should go to jail for using public funds to run elections — Utomi

Professor Pat Utomi, a member of the Movement for Credible Elections, has called for sanctions against politicians who use public resources to finance their election campaigns.

Utomi made the call in an interview with ARISE News, where he discussed Nigeria’s electoral system and the challenges opposition parties face ahead of the 2027 elections.

According to the political economist, control of state resources has become a major advantage for political parties in Nigeria, leaving parties without access to government funds at a disadvantage during elections.

He argued that public money should not be used to finance political campaigns and said politicians who engage in the practice should face criminal consequences.

“One day I would like to see politicians go to jail for spending public money to run for office,” Utomi said.

He described the practice as “thievery” and “criminality”, arguing that public resources should not be diverted towards securing political power.

“It’s thievery, it is. Criminality, but they do it,” he said.

Utomi said parties without access to state resources would have to be more creative in finding ways to compete and protect their votes.

“What we have today is that most political parties that don’t have the treasury of the state, which is the tragedy of Nigerian politics, it’s about just taking the treasury of the state,” he said.

He also identified the deployment of polling agents as a major challenge for opposition parties.

According to him, parties that cannot provide agents across polling units nationwide could struggle to verify what happens at those locations.

“A party that can’t have agents in all of the polling stations in the country is vulnerable to having results written where they are not present,” he said.

Utomi, however, said opposition groups could overcome some of these difficulties through collaboration and resource-sharing.

He also stressed the importance of voter awareness, arguing that citizens need to understand the power of their votes and participate actively in elections.

“If people become aware that their votes can count and they come out and vote, it’s not a 300,000 Nigerian police force that can prevent the people’s will from taking place,” he said.

Utomi also advocated the use of technology to strengthen election monitoring, including body cameras and live streaming from polling units.