SERAP to Presidential Candidates: Publish your assets, wives, children

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged “all 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly publish details of their assets and liabilities, those of their spouses and, where applicable, their unmarried children under 18, and disclose the legitimate sources of their significant assets ahead of the 2027 presidential election.”

SERAP also called on “all presidential candidates to publicly and unequivocally reject vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the elections, and to instruct their parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to offer or distribute money, gifts or other material inducements in exchange for votes.”

The presidential candidates are President Bola Tinubu (APC), Atiku Abubakar (ADC), Peter Obi (NDC), Senator Sandy Onor (PDP), Omoyele Sowore (AAC), Donald Duke (PRP), Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick (NDP), Chukwu Anita Zugwai (YPP), Rufai Adekunle Omoaje (AA), and Adenuga Sunday (Boot Party).

Others are Memeh Samuel (DLA), Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu (ZLP), Okereke Sunday Chibuzor (LP), Okereke Iken Esther (NRM), Abbas-Bin Aliyu (ADP), Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed (NNPP), Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer (SDP), Seyi Makinde (APM), and Yusuf Kabiru (APP).

This was contained in an open letter to the candidates dated August 8, 2026 and signed by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare.

In it, the organisation urged “the candidates to go beyond the bare legal minimum and voluntarily embrace higher standards of transparency, accountability and integrity in seeking Nigeria’s highest elected office.”

The letter said: “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.

“Voluntary pre-election disclosure would enable voters to assess potential conflicts of interest and significant sources of wealth, strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, and establish a baseline against which future changes in assets could be assessed 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.

“The Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and international human rights standards protect free and informed electoral choice, making transparency essential to meaningful democratic participation and providing a strong basis for candidates seeking the highest public office to voluntarily disclose relevant financial information, particularly where corruption and vote-buying threaten electoral integrity. 

“Although the Nigerian Constitution does not expressly require presidential candidates to publish their asset declarations before an election, the Constitution, read as a whole, embodies principles of transparency, accountability, integrity in public office and meaningful participation in government.

“The Constitution already requires elected public officers, including the President, to declare their assets and liabilities.

“Paragraph 11 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule requires public officers to submit declarations of their properties, assets and liabilities, including those of unmarried children under 18, while section 140(1) requires a person elected President to make the prescribed declaration before assuming the functions of office.

“Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects citizens’ rights to participate in public affairs and to vote and be elected in genuine periodic elections. These rights cannot be meaningfully exercised where voters are denied relevant information necessary to scrutinise those seeking to govern them.

“We are also concerned about the persistent use of money, gifts and other inducements to influence voters. Vote-buying directly undermines the constitutional principle that sovereignty belongs to the people.

“Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom government derives its powers and authority, while section 125 of the Electoral Act 2026 criminalises bribery and related conduct intended to procure the return of a person to elective office or the vote of an elector.

“An election in which citizens’ votes are purchased, coerced or otherwise financially induced cannot genuinely reflect the free political will of the Nigerian people.

“Vote-buying is particularly harmful in circumstances of poverty and economic hardship because it exploits economic vulnerability and risks transforming a constitutional political right into a financial transaction.

“Candidates seeking the presidency have a particular responsibility to demonstrate that they are prepared to uphold the standards of transparency, accountability and integrity expected of public office holders.

“The choice before Nigerians in 2027 should be a choice based on ideas, policies, competence and integrity—not on who can spend the most money or conceal the most wealth.” 

SERAP therefore urged all 19 presidential candidates to urgently:

1.    Publish their assets and liabilities before the election, including relevant assets and liabilities of their spouses and unmarried children under 18;

2.    Disclose the legitimate sources of significant assets, including business interests, investments, real property, substantial gifts and inheritance, while protecting legitimate personal security and privacy;

3.    Commit to updating their public declarations if elected and explaining material increases in wealth;

4.    Publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery, including conduct undertaken through campaign organisations, agents, supporters or political associates;

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖