The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on all 19 presidential candidates cleared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2027 general election to voluntarily publish comprehensive details of their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and, where applicable, their unmarried children under the age of 18.
SERAP said the disclosure should be made before the presidential election as part of a broader commitment to transparency, accountability, integrity in public office and the strengthening of public confidence in the democratic process.
The organisation also urged the candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of their significant assets and publicly reject vote-buying, electoral bribery and all forms of material inducement before and during the election campaign.
In addition, SERAP asked the candidates to direct their political parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to offer money, gifts, food, transportation benefits or any other material inducement in exchange for votes.
The presidential candidates named by SERAP are President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Senator Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), Okwori Ada Elizabeth Frederick of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Chukwu Anita Zugwai of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Rufai Adekunle Omoaje of the Action Alliance (AA), and Adenuga Sunday of the Boot Party.
Others listed are Memeh Samuel of the Democratic Labour Alliance (DLA), Nwanyanwu Daniel Danerechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), Okereke Sunday Chibuzor of the Labour Party (LP), Okereke Iken Esther of the National Rescue Movement (NRM), Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Dikwa Suleiman Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Adebayo Adewole Ebenezer of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), and Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party (APP).
In an open letter dated August 8, 2026, and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, 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.”
SERAP argued that individuals seeking the mandate of Nigerians to exercise constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, security institutions and public appointments should be willing to subject their personal financial affairs to reasonable public scrutiny before asking citizens for votes.
“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 vision for Nigeria,” the organisation stated.
According to SERAP, voluntary pre-election asset disclosure would enable voters to assess possible conflicts of interest and major sources of wealth, strengthen public trust in the electoral process, and create a benchmark against which future changes in assets could be measured if a candidate eventually assumes office.
“The 2027 presidential election presents an opportunity for political leaders to demonstrate 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,” SERAP said.
The organisation cited constitutional and international legal provisions in support of its position. It acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not expressly require presidential candidates to publish their asset declarations before an election, but argued that the Constitution embodies principles of transparency, accountability, integrity in public office and meaningful participation in government.
SERAP noted that the Constitution already requires elected public officers, including the President, to declare their assets and liabilities. It specifically cited Paragraph 11 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule, which mandates public officers to declare their properties, assets and liabilities, including those of unmarried children under 18, as well as Section 140(1), which requires a person elected President to make the prescribed declaration before assuming office.
The organisation also referred to Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees citizens the right 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,” SERAP said.
On the issue of vote-buying, SERAP described the use of money, gifts and other inducements to influence voters as a serious threat to electoral integrity.
“We are 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,” the organisation stated.
SERAP cited Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, and Section 125 of the Electoral Act 2026, which criminalises bribery and related conduct intended to procure the election of a candidate or influence 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,” it said.
The organisation warned that vote-buying is especially damaging in a period of widespread poverty and economic hardship because it exploits citizens’ economic vulnerability and risks turning a constitutional political right into a financial transaction.
SERAP therefore urged all 19 presidential candidates to publish their assets and liabilities before the election, disclose the legitimate sources of significant wealth such as business interests, investments, real property, substantial gifts and inheritance, while protecting legitimate personal security and privacy interests.
It also asked the candidates to commit to updating their public declarations if elected and to explain any material increase in wealth while in office; publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery; instruct their campaign organisations and associates not to distribute inducements; report credible allegations of vote-buying involving their campaigns to the appropriate authorities; and sign and publish a public integrity pledge committing themselves, their parties and campaign organisations to peaceful, transparent, accountable and corruption-free elections.
“The choice before Nigerians in 2027 should be based on ideas, policies, competence and integrity, not on who can spend the most money or conceal the most wealth,” SERAP concluded.
