The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has urged all 19 presidential candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the 2027 election to publicly declare their assets and liabilities ahead of the polls.
In a statement on Sunday, SERAP also asked the candidates to openly reject vote-buying and instruct their parties, campaign teams and supporters not to offer money, gifts or any material inducements for votes.
The candidates listed include President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC; Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, ADC; Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC; Senator Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP; and Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, AAC.
Others are Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party, PRP; Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement, APM; Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer of the Social Democratic Party, SDP; Okereke Sunday Chibuzor of the Labour Party, LP; and Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP.
The rest are Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick of the National Democratic Party, NDP; Chukwu Anita Zugwai of the Young Progressives Party, YPP; Rufai Adekunle Omoaje of Action Alliance, AA; Adenuga Sunday of Boot Party; Memeh Samuel of Democratic Labour Alliance, DLA; Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu of Zenith Labour Party, ZLP; Okereke Iken Esther of National Rescue Movement, NRM; Abbas-Bin Aliyu of Action Democratic Party, ADP; and Yusuf Kabiru of Action Peoples Party, APP.
SERAP said the candidates should go beyond the minimum legal requirement and voluntarily embrace higher standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.
“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,” the group stated.
It argued that Nigeria’s democracy belongs to citizens and that “votes must not be bought. Public office must not be treated as private property.”
“Nigerians should not be asked to choose between candidates on the basis of who can spend the most money. They should be able to choose on the basis of policies, competence, integrity, character and their vision for Nigeria,” SERAP added.
The organisation said voluntary pre-election disclosure would help voters assess potential conflicts of interest and sources of wealth, strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, and provide a baseline to track changes in assets if a candidate is elected.
“The 2027 presidential election presents an opportunity for political leaders to show that public office is a public trust. Candidates who voluntarily disclose their assets and reject vote-buying can show that they are prepared to uphold the transparency and accountability they promise to deliver if elected,” SERAP said.
