Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has condemned the alleged deduction of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds to finance the reelection campaign of President Bola Tinubu, describing the move as unconstitutional and a potential economic crime against the Nigerian people.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Adeyanju warned that any attempt to divert statutory allocations meant for states into political campaigns would amount to one of the gravest abuses of public resources in the country’s history.
According to him, FAAC allocations are constitutionally designated public funds belonging to states as federating units and cannot be lawfully deployed for partisan political purposes.
“Any deduction of statutory allocations at source for the purpose of political campaigns raises grave constitutional and criminal concerns,” he stated.
Citing Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the activist lawyer argued that governors and public officials hold such funds in trust for citizens and not as private resources to be used at their discretion.
Adeyanju further noted that contributions allegedly running into billions of naira could also violate provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, which prescribes limits on political donations and campaign financing.
He maintained that where public funds are diverted for campaign purposes, such actions could amount to criminal breach of trust, misappropriation of public funds, abuse of office, and economic sabotage against the affected states.
The lawyer also expressed concern over the lack of transparency surrounding the allegations, stressing that citizens whose resources are involved were neither informed nor consulted.
“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,” Adeyanju added.
He subsequently called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to launch an urgent investigation into the matter.
Comments