Accountability group asks all 19 presidential candidates to voluntarily disclose assets, wealth sources and relevant family interests, while binding their campaigns to a zero-tolerance policy on vote-buying
By Amarachi Odenigbo
ABUJA, Nigeria — August 10, 2026
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has challenged the 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to go beyond the minimum legal requirements by publicly declaring their assets and liabilities ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
The organisation also wants the candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of their significant wealth and publicly commit themselves, their political parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters to rejecting vote-buying, electoral bribery and other forms of inducement.
SERAP’s intervention places personal wealth transparency and campaign financing at the centre of the emerging 2027 electoral debate, arguing that Nigerians should be able to assess those seeking the nation’s highest elected office not only on their policies and political promises but also on their integrity and potential conflicts of interest.
In an open letter dated August 8, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation urged the presidential candidates to voluntarily embrace stronger standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.
SERAP Names 19 Presidential Candidates
The organisation’s appeal was directed at President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the New Democratic Congress (NDC), and the other presidential candidates listed by SERAP.
The candidates named in the letter are:
- Bola Tinubu — APC
- Atiku Abubakar — ADC
- Peter Obi — NDC
- Sandy Onor — PDP
- Omoyele Sowore — AAC
- Donald Duke — PRP
- Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick — NDP
- Chukwu Anita Zugwai — YPP
- Rufai Adekunle Omoaje — AA
- Adenuga Sunday — Boot Party
- 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
- Yusuf Kabiru — APP
SERAP said candidates seeking the mandate to exercise enormous constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, appointments and national security institutions should be prepared to subject their financial interests to reasonable public scrutiny.
Why SERAP Wants Pre-Election Asset Disclosure
At the heart of SERAP’s demand is the argument that voters require sufficient information to make informed choices.
The organisation acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not expressly require presidential candidates to publicly disclose their asset declarations before an election.
However, it argued that the constitutional framework embodies broader principles of transparency, accountability, integrity in public office and citizens’ participation in governance.
SERAP therefore wants candidates to voluntarily disclose their financial interests before seeking the electorate’s mandate.
According to the organisation, such disclosure could provide voters with a baseline for assessing a candidate’s financial position before taking office and subsequently determining whether significant changes in wealth require explanation.
SERAP Wants Wealth Sources Disclosed
The organisation’s proposal goes beyond simply publishing a list of assets.
SERAP wants candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of significant assets, including relevant business interests, investments, real estate, substantial gifts and inheritances.
It also wants candidates to disclose relevant assets and liabilities of their spouses and, where applicable, their unmarried children below 18.
SERAP, however, recognised that legitimate privacy and personal security concerns must be protected in the process.
The central objective, it said, is to enable Nigerians to identify potential conflicts of interest and better understand the financial background of those seeking presidential power.
Constitutional Accountability At The Centre
SERAP based part of its argument on provisions of the Constitution dealing with asset declaration by public officers.
It cited Paragraph 11 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule, which provides for declarations of properties, assets and liabilities by specified public officers, including relevant declarations concerning unmarried children below 18.
The organisation also cited Section 140(1), which requires a person elected President to make the prescribed declaration before assuming the functions of office.
SERAP’s argument is that although the formal constitutional declaration requirement operates when an individual assumes public office, candidates can voluntarily establish a higher transparency standard before Nigerians cast their votes.
Vote-Buying: SERAP Demands Public Commitment
Beyond personal financial transparency, SERAP’s second major demand concerns vote-buying.
The organisation described the use of money, gifts and other material inducements to influence voters as a major threat to electoral integrity.
It urged all 19 candidates to publicly reject the practice and ensure that their campaign organisations, political associates, agents and supporters do not offer money or material benefits in exchange for votes.
SERAP specifically wants candidates to instruct campaign structures not to distribute:
- Cash payments;
- Gifts;
- Food;
- Transportation benefits; or
- Other material inducements designed to influence voters.
The organisation also wants candidates to report credible allegations of vote-buying involving their campaign organisations to the appropriate authorities.
Poverty And Vote-Buying
SERAP argued that vote-buying becomes particularly dangerous in an environment of widespread economic hardship.
According to the organisation, financially vulnerable voters can become targets of political actors seeking to convert economic desperation into electoral advantage.
It warned that the practice risks transforming a constitutional political right into a financial transaction in which citizens effectively exchange their votes for immediate material benefits.
SERAP cited Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria.
Its argument is that where votes are purchased or voters are financially induced, the resulting election may fail to accurately reflect the free political will of citizens.
SERAP Invokes International Human Rights Standards
The organisation also referred to Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which protects citizens’ rights to participate in public affairs and to vote and be elected in genuine periodic elections.
SERAP argued that meaningful political participation requires voters to have access to relevant information about candidates seeking to govern them.
From that perspective, the organisation considers voluntary asset disclosure an accountability measure that could strengthen citizens’ ability to evaluate presidential candidates.
Candidates Asked To Sign Integrity Pledge
SERAP’s proposal goes beyond a one-time declaration.
The organisation wants the presidential candidates to sign and publish a public integrity pledge committing themselves, their parties and campaign organisations to peaceful, transparent, accountable and corruption-free elections.
It also wants candidates who eventually win elective office to update their public declarations and explain material increases in wealth.
Such a system, SERAP argues, would establish a reference point against which future financial changes could be assessed.
What Is At Stake In 2027?
The 2027 presidential election will determine who exercises enormous executive authority over Nigeria’s public resources and institutions.
The President has extensive constitutional responsibilities covering national security, public finance, appointments, economic policy and the management of the country’s natural resources.
SERAP’s intervention therefore shifts part of the electoral conversation away from campaign promises and towards a more fundamental question:
How transparent should those seeking political power be about their financial interests before Nigerians entrust them with public resources?
The organisation’s proposal also places responsibility on political candidates themselves rather than relying exclusively on statutory enforcement mechanisms.
Transparency Versus Privacy
The asset-disclosure proposal also raises an important balancing question.
While transparency is essential for public accountability, disclosure requirements must also respect legitimate privacy and security concerns.
SERAP itself acknowledged the need to protect legitimate personal security and privacy while calling for greater public access to information concerning significant assets and their sources.
The challenge, therefore, is designing a disclosure framework that provides meaningful information to voters without unnecessarily exposing sensitive personal information.
SERAP’s Seven-Point Demand
At the core of its appeal, SERAP wants the presidential candidates to:
- Publish their assets and liabilities before the election.
- Disclose relevant assets and liabilities of spouses and unmarried children under 18.
- Explain the legitimate sources of significant assets, including major investments, businesses, property, gifts and inheritance.
- Commit to updating their declarations if elected and explaining material increases in wealth.
- Publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery.
- Direct campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to distribute inducements in exchange for votes.
- Sign and publish an integrity pledge committing their campaigns to peaceful, transparent, accountable and corruption-free elections.
The Accountability Test
SERAP’s intervention presents the presidential candidates with a voluntary accountability test before the 2027 campaign intensifies.
The organisation is effectively asking candidates to demonstrate through their own conduct the transparency they are likely to promise during their campaigns.
For voters, the significance lies in whether candidates are willing to provide information that could help the electorate examine potential conflicts of interest and understand the financial interests surrounding those seeking presidential power.
For the candidates, however, voluntary disclosure could also carry political risks, particularly where financial information becomes the subject of scrutiny or competing interpretations.
SERAP’s demand has placed asset transparency, wealth disclosure and vote-buying firmly on the accountability agenda ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election.
The organisation’s position is straightforward: Nigerians should not have to choose their next President based primarily on campaign spending, political machinery or financial inducements.
Instead, it wants the electorate to have greater access to information about candidates’ financial interests and to evaluate them on competence, policies, character, integrity and vision.
Whether the 19 presidential candidates will voluntarily embrace the proposed disclosure and integrity measures remains to be seen.
But the underlying question raised by SERAP is likely to remain central to the 2027 contest:
Can Nigeria build an electoral system in which political power is won primarily through ideas and public trust rather than money and financial influence?
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