2027 ELECTION: PRESIDENTIAL, GOVERNOR CANDIDATES FACE N571BN CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMIT

By:Tajudeen Aminat

No fewer than 146 candidates in the 2027 presidential and governorship elections could collectively spend up to N571bn under the campaign expenditure limits stipulated by the Electoral Act 2026.

The figure comprises 19 presidential candidates, each permitted to spend a maximum of N10bn, and 127 governorship candidates, who can spend up to N3bn each under Section 92 of the new law.

The presidential candidates have a combined spending limit of N190bn, while the governorship candidates have a collective ceiling of N381bn.

Together, the two categories have a maximum permissible campaign expenditure of N571bn. However, the figure represents only the statutory spending ceiling and does not indicate the amount the candidates are guaranteed to receive or actually spend.

The development follows the publication by the Independent National Electoral Commission of the personal particulars and credentials of the 19 presidential candidates and their running mates ahead of the 2027 elections.

The publication cleared the way for the commencement of campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.

According to election tracker NGelections.com, 127 candidates across 28 states are currently listed for the 2027 governorship elections. Of these, 122 have been nominated, four have declared their intention to contest, while one remains under monitoring.

However, a check on INEC’s website showed that the commission had yet to publish the complete list of governorship candidates, with its official 2027 election page indicating that the information would be made available soon.

INEC has confirmed that governorship elections will take place in 28 states in 2027, while Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Imo, Kogi, Ondo and Osun will be excluded because they are on the off-cycle election schedule.

The commission has fixed January 16, 2027, for the presidential and National Assembly elections, while the governorship and State House of Assembly elections are scheduled for February 6, 2027.

Section 92 of the Electoral Act 2026 significantly increases the statutory campaign expenditure limits compared with the previous provisions.

Under the new law, a presidential candidate can spend up to N10bn, while a governorship candidate is restricted to N3bn.

For National Assembly elections, a senatorial candidate may spend up to N500m, while the ceiling for a House of Representatives candidate is N250m.

Candidates contesting State House of Assembly elections may spend up to N100m, which is also the limit for Area Council chairmanship candidates. The maximum expenditure for an Area Council councillorship candidate is N10m.

The law also limits individual donations, stipulating that no person may contribute more than N500m to a single candidate.

Candidates who knowingly exceed the prescribed spending limits are liable to sanctions under Section 92. Such a candidate may face a fine equivalent to one per cent of the permitted expenditure limit, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.

The restriction means that although a presidential candidate can spend as much as N10bn, no individual donor can contribute more than N500m to the candidate. Similarly, the N3bn limit for a governorship candidate is six times the maximum individual contribution.

The PUNCH could not establish whether INEC has successfully prosecuted and secured a conviction against any Nigerian politician specifically for exceeding the statutory campaign spending limit. There is also no reported case of a politician or political party being prosecuted for breaching the campaign expenditure limits.

Asked how INEC intends to enforce the provisions, the commission’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, said monitoring campaign finance was part of INEC’s statutory responsibilities.

Anti-corruption agencies are also expected to collaborate with INEC in monitoring and enforcing the spending limits.

The presidential contest features President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, among other candidates.

INEC’s published list contains 19 presidential candidates and their running mates, with their personal details and credentials made available for public scrutiny in line with the Electoral Act.

Other candidates include PDP’s Sandy Onor, African Action Congress candidate Omoyele Sowore, Peoples Redemption Party candidate Donald Duke, Social Democratic Party candidate Adewole Adebayo and Allied Peoples Movement candidate Seyi Makinde.

Candidates from other political parties include the National Democratic Party, Young Progressives Party, Action Alliance, Boot Party, Democratic Liberty Alliance, Zenith Labour Party, Labour Party, National Rescue Movement, Action Democratic Party, New Nigeria Peoples Party and Action Peoples Party.

With each presidential candidate allowed to spend up to N10bn, the 19 candidates have a combined theoretical campaign expenditure ceiling of N190bn.

At the state level, the number of candidates is significantly higher, with 127 governorship candidates currently being tracked across the 28 states scheduled to hold elections in 2027.

The APC and PDP have the highest number of candidates, with 28 each, followed by the ADC with 21, Labour Party with 16 and NDC with nine.

The SDP has six candidates, while APM, PRP and Accord have three each, with other parties fielding fewer candidates.

At N3bn per candidate, the 127 governorship candidates have a collective spending ceiling of N381bn. When added to the N190bn limit for the presidential candidates, the combined potential expenditure rises to N571bn.

However, the amount should not be interpreted as an indication that N571bn will actually be spent during the campaigns. It is simply the aggregate maximum that the candidates could lawfully spend if each reaches the statutory limit.

Civil society organisations have raised concerns over the effectiveness of the new spending limits, stressing that enforcement, monitoring and compliance by political actors will determine whether the provisions achieve their intended purpose.

The Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said the major challenge was not the existence of spending limits but the capacity and willingness of electoral authorities and political parties to enforce them.

He urged political parties, the media and civil society organisations to work together to expose violations, arguing that INEC could not monitor campaign expenditure alone.

Similarly, the Executive Director of the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, Debo Adeniran, called for collaboration among INEC, the media, civil society groups and anti-corruption agencies to effectively track campaign expenditure.

He said media organisations should monitor political advertisements across television, radio, newspapers, billboards and social media, noting that the costs of such activities could be independently verified.

Adeniran also advocated tougher sanctions, including possible deregistration of political parties and disqualification of candidates who breach the spending limits.

The Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, said campaign spending limits were necessary to prevent wealthy candidates from effectively buying political positions.

He, however, noted that INEC’s capacity to monitor campaign expenditure remained a major concern and called for stronger sanctions and a dedicated mechanism for tracking political party finances.

Mamedu also warned that excessive campaign spending could fuel corruption, as wealthy politicians and their financiers might seek government contracts and other benefits in return for financial support.

The campaign finance debate comes as the National Broadcasting Commission warned broadcasters, online publishers, bloggers and other information disseminators against using their platforms to spread misinformation, hate speech, inflammatory content and other material capable of undermining peaceful elections.

The warning followed the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 presidential and National Assembly elections.

In a statement issued by Moses Jolayemi, Technical Adviser to the NBC Director-General, Charles Ebuebu, the commission urged broadcasters to maintain accuracy, fairness, professionalism and responsibility in their political coverage.

The NBC directed broadcasters to provide fair, balanced and equitable coverage while warning against promoting or suppressing particular political parties, candidates or viewpoints.

It also cautioned against presenting unverified allegations, statistics and political claims as facts.

The commission further warned presenters, reporters, producers and hosts against allowing personal political opinions to be presented as facts, intimidating guests or suppressing opposing viewpoints.

Broadcasters were directed to maintain accurate records of political airtime allocated to parties and candidates and to ensure that political advertising remained clearly distinguishable from news, editorial content and independent programming.

The NBC also warned against the dissemination of inflammatory or divisive content capable of inciting violence, promoting hatred or deepening ethnic, religious, regional or political divisions.

It cautioned broadcasters against announcing election results or projections from unofficial sources, stressing that results and declarations should only be broadcast as announced by duly authorised electoral officials.

The commission said its monitoring of political broadcasts would be intensified throughout the election period, covering political advertisements, news bulletins, current affairs programmes, debates, interviews, phone-ins, commentaries, sponsored programmes and live broadcasts.

It also urged online publishers, bloggers, social media commentators and other content creators to exercise responsibility in the interest of national peace and democratic stability.