The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged the 19 presidential candidates announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission to publicly declare their assets and liabilities ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
SERAP also asked the candidates to disclose the assets and liabilities of their spouses and, where applicable, their unmarried children under 18, as well as the legitimate sources of their significant wealth.
In an open letter dated August 8, 2026, and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation further urged the candidates to publicly reject vote-buying and electoral bribery before and during the election.
The candidates include President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress, Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress, Sandy Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party, Omoyele Sowore of the African Action Congress, Donald Duke of the Peoples Redemption Party and Okwori Elizabeth Frederick of the National Democratic Party.
Others are Chukwu Anita Zugwai of the Young Progressives Party, Rufai Omoaje of the Action Alliance, Adenuga Sunday of the Boot Party, Memeh Samuel of the Democratic Labour Alliance, Nwanyanwu Danerechukwu of the Zenith Labour Party, Okereke Chibuzor of the Labour Party, Okereke Esther of the National Rescue Movement, Abbas-Bin Aliyu of the Action Democratic Party, Dikwa Mohammed of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Adebayo Adewole of the Social Democratic Party, Seyi Makinde of the Allied Peoples Movement and Yusuf Kabiru of the Action Peoples Party.
SERAP said the presidential candidates should voluntarily go beyond the minimum legal requirements by embracing higher standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.
The organisation said, “Candidates asking Nigerians to entrust them with enormous constitutional powers over public finances, natural resources, appointments and security institutions should be willing, before asking for their votes, to demonstrate that their personal financial affairs can withstand reasonable public scrutiny.”
It added, “Nigeria’s democracy belongs to its citizens. Votes must not be bought. Public office must not be treated as private property.
“Those seeking the highest public office must be willing to meet the highest standards of transparency, accountability and integrity.”
SERAP said publishing the candidates’ assets before the election would enable voters to scrutinise their financial interests and identify possible conflicts of interest.
“Voluntary pre-election disclosure would enable voters to assess potential conflicts of interest and significant sources of wealth, strengthen public confidence in the electoral process, and establish a baseline against which future changes in assets could be assessed if a candidate is elected,” it said.
The organisation stated that Nigerians should be able to make their choice based on the candidates’ policies, competence and integrity rather than their financial capacity.
“Nigerians should not be asked to choose between candidates based on who can spend the most money. They should be able to choose based on policies, competence, integrity, character and their vision for Nigeria,” SERAP said.
The organisation also called on the candidates to disclose the legitimate sources of significant assets, including business interests, investments, real property, substantial gifts and inheritance, while allowing for legitimate concerns about personal security and privacy.
It further urged candidates elected in 2027 to commit to updating their public declarations and explaining any material increase in their wealth.
On vote-buying, SERAP asked all the candidates to publicly reject the practice and direct their parties, campaign organisations, agents and supporters not to offer money, gifts, food, transportation benefits or other inducements in exchange for votes.
The organisation said it was concerned about the persistent use of money and other material inducements to influence voters, warning that such practices undermine the sovereignty of the people.