Kimpact Development Initiative faults N10bn presidential campaign limit, warns of corruption risks

The Executive Director of Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Bukola Idowu, has criticized the N10 billion campaign spending limit for presidential elections, describing it as excessive and a potential gateway to corruption in Nigeria’s electoral system.

Speaking during an interview on Arise News, Idowu argued that the approved ceiling lacks empirical justification and undermines efforts to promote transparency and accountability in the political process.

He noted that the remuneration of a Nigerian president over a four-year tenure does not amount to N10 billion, questioning the rationale behind permitting such a high expenditure for election campaigns.

According to him, the decision by the National Assembly to raise campaign spending limits has effectively commercialised elections in the country.

“That has been the narrative. That is what the lawmakers were saying — that this provision came from the 2022 Electoral Act and when you consider inflation, the previous N5 billion was no longer justifiable,” he said.

“But the question we keep asking them — and we have made this presentation to them several times — is: where are the facts, statistics or data backing this decision?”

Idowu maintained that there was no clear data-driven analysis to justify the figures allocated to various elective offices. He specifically questioned the N3 billion cap for governorship candidates, pointing out disparities in the number of local government areas across states.

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Using examples, he said Kano State has 44 local government areas while Bayelsa has only eight, yet governorship candidates in both states are allowed to spend up to N3 billion.

“How did you arrive at N3 billion for governors?” he asked. “Someone campaigning in Bayelsa with eight local governments has the same limit as someone in Lagos or Kano with far more local governments. What data are you using?”

He further queried the logic behind pegging the presidential campaign spending limit at N10 billion, arguing that it does not reflect statistical reasoning or equitable considerations.

“At the end of the day, you now say the President is going to spend N10 billion. Even the governor going round about 30 local governments is allowed N3 billion. How did you arrive at N10 billion for the President? It does not make any statistical sense,” he stated.

Idowu insisted that without transparent benchmarks or evidence-based calculations, such financial thresholds risk deepening monetisation of politics and widening the gap between wealthy candidates and grassroots contenders.

He called for a review of the campaign finance framework to ensure that electoral laws promote fairness, inclusiveness and accountability rather than turning democratic contests into high-cost commercial ventures.