No political party allowed to receive funds from abroad, says INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said yesterday that political parties in Nigeria are not allowed to receive funds from foreign countries.

Speaking during a programme on Channels Television, Politics Today, INEC National Commissioner, Festus Okoye, said that parties are also not allowed to receive funds anonymously.

The provision may constitute a blow for the Labour Party which has been courting Nigerians in the diaspora to fund part of their campaigns.

“Section 225 of the Nigerian constitution makes it clear that no registered political party in Nigeria shall possess any funds outside the country,” Okoye said.

He added: “In other words, a political party cannot open an account and have monies remitted into that particular account outside the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Secondly it makes it clear that no political party shall under any circumstance retain any funds remitted to it outside the country.

“And if such funds are remitted to the political party from outside the country, that particular political party has a constitutional and legal obligation to turn in such funds to INEC within a period of 21 days from the date of receipt of such funds.”