By Musa Baba Adamu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has taken the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to court, seeking an order compelling the electoral body to investigate allegations that governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) diverted N800 billion in public funds for political campaigns.
In a statement issued on Sunday, SERAP alleged that the governors were making monthly deductions from their Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations into a dedicated campaign fund to support President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.
According to the organisation, the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1426/2026, was filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja last week.
SERAP is asking the court to issue an order of mandamus directing INEC to investigate the allegations and require the APC and the affected governors to disclose details of the alleged campaign fund, including the identities of donors and the lawful sources of the money.
The rights group is also seeking an order compelling the electoral commission to review compliance with Section 91 of the Electoral Act by all political parties and candidates, particularly in relation to campaign financing and the sources of political donations during the ongoing election cycle.
According to SERAP, the allegations raise serious concerns about transparency in political financing, electoral fairness and the constitutional rights of Nigerians to participate in a credible democratic process.
The organisation argued that secretive campaign financing encourages corruption, weakens public confidence in democratic institutions and undermines the integrity of elections.
SERAP further maintained that the alleged use of public resources for political purposes, if established, would amount to a serious abuse of public trust, stressing that transparency and accountability in campaign funding are essential to preventing corruption, undue political influence and state capture.
INEC and the APC had yet to publicly respond to the lawsuit as of the time of filing this report.
