Rights group urges candidates to disclose sources of wealth and reject vote-buying ahead of the presidential poll.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to publicly disclose their assets and liabilities ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
The organisation also asked the candidates to disclose the assets and liabilities of their spouses and, where applicable, unmarried children under 18, as well as the legitimate sources of their significant wealth.
SERAP made the call in an open letter dated August 8, 2026, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare.
The group urged the candidates to voluntarily embrace higher standards of transparency, accountability and integrity before seeking the votes of Nigerians.
According to SERAP, presidential candidates seeking constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, appointments and security institutions should be willing to subject their financial affairs to reasonable public scrutiny.
“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 their vision for Nigeria,” the organisation said.
SERAP said pre-election asset disclosure would help voters identify potential conflicts of interest, assess the sources of candidates’ wealth and provide a baseline for monitoring changes in their assets if elected.
The organisation also urged all 19 candidates to publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the election.
It asked them to direct their parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to offer money, gifts, food, transportation benefits or other material inducements in exchange for votes.
SERAP further called on the candidates to report credible allegations of vote-buying involving their campaign organisations to the appropriate authorities and sign a public integrity pledge committing themselves and their political structures to peaceful, transparent and accountable elections.
The organisation acknowledged that the 1999 Constitution, as amended, does not expressly require presidential candidates to publish their asset declarations before an election.
However, it argued that constitutional principles of transparency, accountability, integrity in public office and citizens’ participation support voluntary disclosure.
SERAP cited Paragraph 11 of Part I of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution, which requires public officers to declare their properties, assets and liabilities, including those of unmarried children under 18.
It also cited Section 140(1), which requires a person elected President to make the prescribed declaration before assuming the functions of office.
On vote-buying, SERAP cited Section 14(2)(a) of the Constitution, which provides that sovereignty belongs to the people, and Section 125 of the Electoral Act 2026, which it said criminalises bribery and related conduct aimed at influencing voters or securing electoral victory.
SERAP argued that vote-buying is particularly harmful amid economic hardship because it exploits the vulnerability of voters and undermines the free expression of political choice.
“The choice before Nigerians in 2027 should be a choice based on ideas, policies, competence and integrity—not on who can spend the most money or conceal the most wealth,” the organisation said.
The 19 candidates listed by SERAP include President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi of the New Democratic Congress (NDC), Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Seyi Makinde of the Accord Party Movement (APM).
Others are 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), Adenuga Sunday of the Boot Party, Memeh Samuel of the Democratic Liberation Movement (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), and Yusuf Kabiru of the Allied Peoples Party (APP).