The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made it clear that every candidate contesting in the 2023 general elections, must present their bank statements for scrutiny.
INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, who was represented by Kunle Ajayi, INEC’s national commissioner, stated this at a high-level policy roundtable on political campaign finance on Friday in Abuja.
Yakubu also threatened to prosecute banks that failed to report suspicious transactions carried out by 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.”