N10bn Presidential Campaign Limit Lacks Data, Encourages Corruption – Kimpact ED Bukola Idowu
Concerns have been raised over the newly approved N10 billion presidential campaign spending ceiling, with stakeholders warning that the provision could institutionalise corruption within Nigeria’s electoral system.
Bukola Idowu, Executive Director of Kimpact Development Initiative, strongly criticised the N10 billion campaign limit for presidential candidates, arguing that the benchmark lacks economic logic and empirical justification.
Speaking during an appearance on Arise News, Idowu maintained that the approved ceiling far exceeds any rational financial framework when compared with the official earnings of a sitting president over a four-year tenure.
“That has been the narrative. That is what the lawmakers were saying that, look, this was a provision from the 2022 Electoral Act and then when you look at the inflation rate, then that 5 billion is not justifiable and justiciable,” he said.
PulseNets learnt that Idowu questioned the economic reasoning behind the adjustment of campaign spending limits under the 2022 Electoral Act, stressing that inflationary arguments advanced by lawmakers do not sufficiently justify the jump in figures.
“But the question we keep asking them, and we have made this presentation to them several times, and that is to tell you that, look, their decision is not being backed by fact, statistics or data.”
He further challenged the data framework allegedly used to determine campaign expenditure thresholds for governorship elections across states with varying local government structures.
“How did you arrive at 3 billion for Governors? Because look at it this way, Kano has about 44 local government areas. Bayelsa has eight local government areas. So if you are campaigning in Bayelsa, you are going to campaign with 3 billion. Someone in Lagos is going to campaign with 3 billion. What data are you using?”
PulseNets reported that the Kimpact Development Initiative boss argued that uniform campaign caps ignore structural disparities among states, thereby undermining statistical fairness and electoral equity.
Extending his critique to the presidential limit, Idowu insisted that the N10 billion benchmark lacks proportional and fiscal justification.
“So at the end of the day, you now say the President is going to be 10 billion. So even the governor is going to go round like about 30 local governments with 3 billion. So how did you arrive at 10 billion for the President?”
He maintained that the ceiling does not align with measurable financial indicators and fails the test of policy rationality.
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“So it doesn’t really make any statistical sense. It is not backed by law. The president in four years does not earn up to this amount in salary,” he stated.
PulseNets spoke to electoral governance observers who share concerns that excessively high campaign spending limits could commercialise Nigeria’s democratic process and widen corruption risks ahead of future general elections.
