Adeyanju: FAAC Deductions for Tinubu Re-election Greatest Crime Against Nigeria

Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has condemned alleged deductions from states’ allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election campaign, describing it as unconstitutional and a grave crime against Nigerians.

Adeyanju stated that any deduction of statutory allocations at source for political campaigns raises serious constitutional and criminal concerns. According to him, Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) clearly provides that FAAC allocations are public funds belonging to the states as federating units and held in trust for the people, not private resources for governors to deploy for partisan interests.

He further argued that contributions allegedly running into billions of naira could violate donation limits stipulated under the Electoral Act 2022, which places a cap on political contributions by individuals and entities.

The activist maintained that where public funds are diverted for campaign financing, such actions could amount to criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, and economic sabotage against the affected states.

Adeyanju also expressed concern over the lack of transparency and the absence of public consent regarding the alleged deductions.

He called on anti-corruption agencies, including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, to immediately investigate the allegations, recover any diverted funds, and ensure that all persons found culpable are prosecuted in accordance with the law.