The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it had taken measures to track campaign expenditure incurred by political parties as it lifted ban on election campaigns.

The electoral body said it will sanction presidential aspirants that spend above N1billion on campaign. The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Kayode Idowu, on Monday in Abuja stated this in an interview with journalists following the lifting of the ban on election campaigns.

“According to section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended, the maximum expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election shall be N1 billion; for governorship, it is N200 million and the act also stipulated sanctions for candidate who flaunted the campaign spending limits.

“The sanction for presidential election is N1 million or 12 months imprisonment or both and for governor, N800,000 or nine months or both.

NAN reports that in line with the electoral timetable released by INEC, presidential and National Assembly aspirants of political parties are allowed to commence campaign from November 16.

Similarly, the ban on campaign by governorship and state House of Assembly aspirants is expected to be lifted on November 30.

Idowu said that the commission now had a department to monitor spending of candidates in the 2015 elections.

Idowu said that the department was functional and was in full capacity.

“That structure did not exist in 2011 and we could not do much in that regard. Now we have been able to put structure in place to track expenditure and we are going to be doing that.

“The situation now is that we can only know whether a person has over spent until he or she has spent it. You cannot stop people from spending until the person has spent.

“What the law anticipates is that we have put ceiling on spending and we will now monitor to know whether we can make a case about it.”

Idowu stressed the need for political parties to adhere to election expenses as stipulated by the Electoral Act.

“The act also placed a campaign ceiling of N40 million and N20 million for senatorial and House of Representatives candidates respectively.

“It also fixed amount for election expenses in the state assembly and chairmanship election for an area council at N10 million.”

“While the sum of N600,000 or six months imprisonment is stipulated for a senatorial candidate, the sum of 500,000 or five months imprisonment is also stipulated for a House of Representatives candidate who defaults on the campaign spending.”

Asked if the commission had the capacity to handle the magnitude of electoral offences, Idowu said that INEC could only work within framework of the law.

He said that was why the commission had always called for establishment of election tribunals.

“If the law says INEC should do something even within the constraints, INEC will do what is possible within those constraints.

“INEC will do what it has to do within the framework of the law as it exists at the present. For instance, the law says we should publish the audited yearly accounts of the political parties and that is what we have always done.

“We audit and publish, that is what the law says we should do. After we publish what next?

“There are places where you have offences and you don’t have sanctions stated"

http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2014/11/18/inec-to-jail-presidential-candidates-that-spend-above-n1bn-on-campaign/

They will certainly jail Jonathan. What's their sanctions for the greedy godfathers who are never satisfied like grave? How will they know that this amount has been spent? My advice to INEC: They should sanction violent political parties and candidates and leave money spent as it can easily be denied.

“The sanction for presidential election is N1 million or 12 months imprisonment or both and for governor, N800,000 or nine months or both.

If a candidate can spend N1bn($5.7m) on campaign then a million naira wouldn't be so hard to squeeze out. The 12 months imprisonment is more appropriate, what is even the basis for this section 91 electoral stuff. GEJ should be cooling his heels in jail by now!

If INEC is really serious about this, then jonathan is culpable already. TAN went through the back door to campaign for Jonathan and had already spent far more than 2Billion. This they did at the expense of the tax payers.

Na mouth e dy jega

Pitato petato as if they will do it.

INEC is stupid!

Brother Seun, in view of the need for wider awareness, I deem this thread a front page material so that those who can have evidence will feed INEC.

These people are damn funny. Some candidates spent up to N10b only on election [not campaign] in 2011. If a candidate could spend up to that amount on the election day, that means he would have spent up to N20m for his campaign!

Jonathan is already guilty! Jega,arrest him immediately!

INEC should just allow these politicians to spend joor, Lolzzzz. Let's separate the MEN from the boys, and boys from the small boys.
Boys wan hammer during these periods,

How else can we collect back our toll money and double taxation from Tinubu?
Make INEC take time o

berem:
Jonathan is already guilty! Jega,arrest him immediately!

Nne leave that thing biko.
GEJ has not even started his campaign proper, na people de campaign for am.
INEC go tire when campaign proper starts...
Jega should beam his searchlight to Lagos.

Na only u I fit quote o, and you know the reason abi?

Gabbysky:



Na only u I fit quote o, and you know the reason abi?

I no know the reason o! abeg tell me!

Only if INEC have the power to arrest them

berem:
Jonathan is already guilty! Jega,arrest him immediately!

again ! So u no fit respect urself for one second ?

Stop for the gods

Do they mean fund spent by the official campaign organisation? What about those that individuals will spend for the candidates, like TAN purportedly bankrolled by Ifeanyi Ubah. THEY ARE YEARNING DUST

Good development.

It's a ploy to reduce opposition strength while allowing the incumbent to out spend them more.

GEJ is already guilty.