Barr. Deji Adeyanju, human rights lawyer and politician, has called for an investigation into allegations that public funds are being used to finance the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu.
In a statement, Adeyanju said any deduction of statutory allocations from the federation account for political campaigns would violate the constitution and raise serious criminal concerns.
The lawyer said allocations distributed through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) are public funds belonging to states as federating units and cannot be deployed for partisan political interests.
“Any deduction of statutory allocations at source for the purpose of political campaigns raises grave constitutional and criminal concerns.
“Under Section 162 of the CFRN 1999 (as amended), FAAC allocations are public funds belonging to the states as federating units and held in trust for the people, not private resources to be deployed at the discretion of governors for partisan interests,” he stated.
Adeyanju said any contribution amounting to billions of naira could also violate donation limits prescribed under the Electoral Act 2022.
He added that diversion of public funds for campaign purposes could amount to criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, and economic sabotage.
“Where public funds are allegedly diverted for campaign financing, such conduct could amount to criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, and economic sabotage against the affected states,” he said.
The lawyer also criticised the alleged lack of transparency and absence of public consent regarding the reported deductions.
Adeyanju urged anti-corruption agencies to investigate the allegations and recover any diverted funds if established.
“If these allegations are true, the relevant anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and ICPC, must immediately investigate, recover any diverted funds, and ensure that all persons involved are held accountable in accordance with the law,” he concluded.