Civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), anti-corruption agencies and public auditors to strengthen oversight of political campaign activities ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 general election.
The groups warned that the involvement of serving governors, ministers and senior government officials in the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign must not undermine governance, legislative oversight or the management of public funds.
Their concerns followed President Bola Tinubu’s assurance that his administration would continue to discharge its responsibilities despite increasing political activities ahead of the election.
The organisations said the President’s commitment and similar assurances from legislative leaders must be backed by enforceable safeguards, transparent campaign financing and accountability for any proven abuse of public office.
Tinubu Says Governance Will Continue Despite Campaign Activities
Tinubu gave the assurance on Wednesday while inaugurating the APC presidential campaign council at the State House in Abuja.
The President said he would continue engaging Nigerians on his administration’s achievements and development agenda, while the campaign council coordinated political activities across states and local government areas.
“The responsibility of this office does not pause. So you will excuse me from going everywhere with you. We have bills to pay. The job must go on,” Tinubu said.
He added that Nigeria needed to sustain its economic commitments and attract investment, indicating that government business would continue alongside preparations for the 2027 election.
However, civil society groups said the practical implementation of the President’s assurance would be crucial in determining whether public officials could participate in partisan politics without neglecting their official responsibilities.
Abbas Warns Lawmakers Against Political Distractions
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has also cautioned lawmakers against allowing political activities ahead of the 2027 general election to interfere with their legislative duties.
Speaking as the House resumed plenary after its annual recess, Abbas urged members to remain focused on lawmaking, oversight and other constitutional responsibilities despite political realignments.
“Our conduct must justify their confidence. Debate may be vigorous, but it must remain responsible. Political competition must not displace our constitutional duties,” he said.
The Speaker noted that the 10th National Assembly had entered the final stretch of its tenure and needed to assess its performance while prioritising outstanding legislative business.
For civil society organisations, however, public assurances would need to translate into measurable outcomes, including legislative attendance, committee sittings, effective scrutiny of government spending and consequences for proven misconduct.
CSOs Question Campaign Finance Roles of Serving Governors
The appointment of serving governors and senior government officials to financial positions within the APC campaign structure has attracted particular scrutiny.
Delta State Governor Sheriff Oborevwori is listed as Director of Finance/Treasury, while Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo is named Deputy Director.
Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun is listed as Director of Fundraising, with Nigeria Revenue Service Chairman Zacch Adedeji named Deputy Director of Fundraising.
The appointments have raised questions about how campaign finances will be separated from public revenue, government expenditure and official responsibilities.
Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Dr Andrew Mamedu, said the main concern was not the participation of public officials in politics but the possibility that governance or public resources could be compromised in pursuit of electoral advantage.
“The fundamental concern here is not that public officials are participating in politics. They have a democratic right to do so. The concern is whether governance is being sacrificed for campaigning, and whether public resources will be deployed to secure partisan advantage,” Mamedu said.
He urged the APC to demonstrate that government business would continue and that taxpayers would not be required to finance the party’s electoral ambitions.
Mamedu also called for mandatory campaign finance disclosures, independent expenditure audits and stronger conflict-of-interest requirements for governors and ministers involved in fundraising.
RULAAC Calls for Monitoring of Public Expenditure
Executive Director of the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Okechukwu Nwanguma, identified several potential risks that he said required preventive monitoring by relevant institutions.
These include the possible diversion of security votes or ministry funds, the use of official vehicles and aircraft for campaign activities, pressure on government contractors to make political donations, and the classification of campaign expenditure as official government business.
Nwanguma urged INEC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to establish effective monitoring mechanisms ahead of the election.
He also called for proper documentation of campaign donations and expenditure, disclosure of donors and contributions, independent scrutiny of campaign accounts and audits of unusual public spending.
The organisations stressed, however, that appointments to campaign positions do not by themselves establish wrongdoing. Any allegation of misuse of public resources, they said, should be investigated and assessed on the basis of evidence.
National Assembly Leaders Face Calls to Protect Legislative Oversight
The participation of senior National Assembly leaders in the APC campaign council has also raised questions about the legislature’s ability to scrutinise the executive independently.
Those listed in the council include Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, alongside other serving legislators.
Nwanguma said the involvement of principal legislative officers in campaign management required clear safeguards to prevent conflicts between partisan responsibilities and parliamentary duties.
He called for rules requiring lawmakers in senior campaign positions to disclose their roles, avoid campaign activities during plenary and committee sessions, and recuse themselves from inquiries where direct conflicts of interest arise.
Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, urged the Senate and House of Representatives to enforce attendance requirements, publish legislative calendars and disclose campaign-related absences.
Rafsanjani also argued that principal officers whose campaign responsibilities prevent them from effectively performing their legislative duties should relinquish their campaign positions.
Mamedu said accountability should be measured through attendance records, committee sittings, legislative productivity and continued scrutiny of government expenditure.
“The National Assembly cannot become a campaign secretariat. Nigerians need lawmakers who scrutinise the government, not legislators too distracted by campaigning to hold it accountable,” he said.
Rafsanjani acknowledged that serving governors, legislators and ministers had participated in previous presidential campaigns, including APC campaigns in 2019 and 2023. However, he maintained that precedent should not justify the neglect of official duties or the abuse of incumbency.
CSOs Propose Nigerian Version of the US Hatch Act
Beyond immediate concerns surrounding the campaign council, the organisations renewed calls for a comprehensive legal framework governing the relationship between public administration and partisan political activities.
Nwanguma advocated a Nigerian equivalent of the United States’ Hatch Act, adapted to the country’s constitutional arrangements and political system.
The US law restricts most federal executive-branch employees from engaging in certain partisan political activities, including using official authority or government resources to influence elections. The President and Vice President are exempt, while elected legislators are subject to separate rules.
In the United Kingdom, the Ministerial Code requires ministers to distinguish government responsibilities from party-political activities and prohibits the use of government resources for partisan purposes.
Nwanguma said Nigeria could draw lessons from these frameworks by establishing clear rules governing the use of government vehicles, offices, personnel, communications facilities and public funds during election campaigns.
He also called for safeguards to protect civil servants from compulsory political participation and pressure to make political donations.
Mamedu supported enforceable restrictions on the use of public funds, government personnel, official vehicles and institutional budgets for partisan campaigns.
“The test of democracy is not whether the ruling party can win an election. It is whether the ruling party can contest an election without using the resources of the state to its advantage,” he said.
He added that winning an election did not give a political party ownership of the Nigerian state, stressing that government institutions serve all citizens regardless of their political affiliations.
CSOs Urge INEC to Enforce Electoral Accountability
The organisations also called on INEC to issue clear guidelines separating official government schedules from campaign activities, maintaining distinct financial records and preventing the use of public personnel and facilities for partisan purposes.
They urged the commission and relevant oversight bodies to scrutinise campaign fundraising involving government contractors and businesses subject to official regulation.
The groups further called for stronger enforcement of existing electoral rules and meaningful sanctions where violations are established.
Section 95(2) of the Electoral Act 2022 prohibits the use of state apparatus, including the media, to the advantage or disadvantage of a political party or candidate.
The CSOs said the provision and other applicable safeguards should be enforced to protect electoral fairness and public resources ahead of the 2027 general election.
Mamedu reiterated that political parties should finance their campaigns through legitimate party resources rather than public funds or government institutions.
As preparations for the election continue, the organisations say the central test will be whether public officials can fulfil their constitutional responsibilities while participating in partisan politics without compromising transparency, accountability or the proper use of taxpayers’ money.