The political movement of Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, which has benefited from support from the diaspora community in Nigeria, has stirred up some debate, particularly regarding the legality of raising an alleged $150 million from the diaspora for the candidate’s 2023 campaign.
Obi, however, vehemently denied receiving any support from emigrant Nigerians. In a meeting with Nigerians in London, the Labour Party candidate refuted the story, calling it merely speculative.
In this context, the diaspora donation has caused problems for the Labour Party, Obi, and his group of followers.
Here are a few of the factors that made the contentious Diaspora donation a significant problem for the Obi movement.
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The clause of the Nigerian 2022 Electoral Act as amended, which forbids candidates from receiving foreign money to fund election campaigns, is one of the main obstacles to the Diaspora funding of the Obi movement.
The Electoral Act of 2022 and the 1999 constitution (as modified) contain provisions for INEC’s participation in the gathering of political parties’ annual reports, a study of their funding sources, and limitations on campaign spending.
Political parties are not allowed to have cash or assets abroad, according to section 225 (3)(a) of the constitution from 1999.
No political party is allowed to: hold or own monies or other assets outside of Nigeria; or have the right to keep any cash or assets remitted or sent to it from outside of Nigeria, according to Section 225(3).
Any money or other assets transferred to a political party outside of Nigeria must be paid over to the commission within 21 days of receipt and include any further information the agency may want.
The terms of section 225 of the 1999 constitution are repeated in section 85 of the Electoral Act of 2022.
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“Any political party that – (a) holds or possesses any fund outside Nigeria in violation of section 225 (3) (a) of the Constitution, commits an offence and, upon conviction, shall forfeit the funds or assets purchased with such funds to the Commission and shall also be subject to a fine of at least five million dollars; or (b) retains any fund or other asset remitted to it from outside Nigeria in violation of section 225 (3) (a) of the Constitution, commits an offense.”
Obi’s refutation, which refuted the report and dismissed the contentious diaspora donation as mere conjecture, put the subject to rest.
Obi claimed that the goal of his international meetings was not to secure funding but rather to guarantee that Nigerians in the nations he visited were participating in the election process.
Nothing has been handed to me, he declared. That is a wild guess. They would not give me what I need.
