Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has condemned alleged deductions from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds for President Bola Tinubu’s reelection campaign, describing the move as unconstitutional, illegal and a potential abuse of public resources.
Adeyanju, in a statement issued on Wednesday, warned that any deduction of statutory allocations at source for political purposes would amount to a serious violation of the Constitution and could attract criminal liability.
According to him, allocations distributed through FAAC are public funds belonging to states as federating units and cannot be diverted for partisan political activities.
“Any deduction of statutory allocations at source for the purpose of political campaigns raises grave constitutional and criminal concerns,” Adeyanju stated.
He cited Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), noting that FAAC allocations are held in trust for citizens and are not private resources for governors or political officeholders to deploy at will.
“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 said.
The lawyer further argued that any contribution involving billions of naira for campaign financing could also breach provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 regulating political donations.
“Beyond these constitutional issues, any contribution running into billions of naira may also violate the donation limits prescribed under the Electoral Act 2022, which places a cap on individual political contributions,” he added.
Adeyanju maintained that where public funds are allegedly diverted for campaign purposes, such action could amount to multiple criminal offences, including misappropriation of public funds and abuse of office.
“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.
He also criticised what he described as a lack of transparency surrounding the alleged deductions, insisting that citizens whose resources are involved deserve accountability and openness.
“The absence of transparency or the consent of the people whose resources are allegedly involved is equally troubling,” Adeyanju noted.
He called on anti-graft agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), to immediately investigate the allegations.
“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 said.
