BREAKING: 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS: Every Candidate Must Declare Bank Assets, Says INEC

BREAKING: 2023 GENERAL ELECTIONS: Every Candidate Must Declare Bank Assets, Says INEC

Save Our Nation (SON)

January 22, 2022

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu

According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), every candidate running in the general elections in 2023 would be required to submit bank statements for inspection.

This was said by INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu, who was represented by Kunle Ajayi, INEC’s national commissioner, at a high-level policy discussion on political campaign finance held in Abuja on Friday.

In addition, the INEC chairman threatened to penalize banks for failing to disclose suspicious transactions involving politicians during election campaigns.

“We have not officially declared a notice for the 2023 general elections, but when we so declare, we will put our monitoring committees to motion like the central banks, the DSS, the EFCC, the ICPC, the (commercial) banks and other law enforcement agencies,” he said.

“Every candidate must declare bank asset because that is where they draw out their money, so we will make them to present their statements of account right from the onset.

“We will make it mandatory for them to turn in their bank statements so if they say they are doing billboards and the account remains the same, then there is a problem.”

Yakubu stated that INEC would establish finance monitoring teams to monitor politicians to curb excessive electoral funding.

He added that money politics, undue influence of money, marginalisation, particularly of women and youths and other vulnerable members of the electorates, are hampering participation.