The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said identities of financial donors to political parties during electioneering cannot be shrouded in secrecy.
Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Friday, Festus Okoye, INEC spokesperson, warned political parties against receiving funds from “anonymous sources” for the 2023 elections.
Ahead of the 2023 elections, there have been a series of debates on the legality of crowdfunding, including diaspora funding, to raise money for campaigns for political parties and their candidates.
Asked how INEC will monitor crowdfunding for campaign organisations, Okoye said political parties are not to spend funds from anonymous sources.
“The law is very clear. The law says that no political party is obligated to receive funds from sources it cannot testify to — anonymous sources,” he said.
“And the law is very clear that when people donate funds to you (referring to political parties), you should get their names, know their addresses, and so on.
“If you receive funds from a source you cannot identify, you should turn in such funds to the INEC. The law is also clear that every registered political party in Nigeria must and shall maintain proper books of accounts where it will record the sources of funds, money received, expenditure it has made, and the place where it received such funds from.
“If a political party receives funds that it cannot account for or does not know its source, that particular political party ought to report to INEC that it received such funds.”
Section 225 (3) of the constitution states that: “No political party shall — hold or possess any funds or other assets outside Nigeria; or be entitled to retain any funds or assets remitted or sent to it from outside Nigeria.”
Speaking on the legal provisions of campaign funding, Okoye said section 225 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) does not allow political parties to receive funds from outside the country.