It's been 18 days since the start of the presidential campaign, but the source of campaign funding for key candidates remains a mystery, as they do not disclose how they raise funds to sell the program to voters.

According to the National Electoral Commission's calendar, next year's presidential elections will begin on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. In a national presidential campaign, candidates and party officials typically travel to each state to hold rallies, sell proclamations there, mobilize supporters for those rallies, buy cars, and print memorabilia, such as it would be t-shirts. and fez hats and posters, advertising in newspapers, online media, television and radio stations

Section 88 of the 2022 Electoral Act limits the amount a presidential candidate can spend on an election campaign to N5 billion and the amount an individual or organization can donate to a candidate is limited to N50 million. But in response to PUNCH's query on the source of funding for the 2023 presidential election on Saturday, Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Media for the All Progressive Congress Presidential Campaign Committee, said the party's candidate has no a financing strategy for his campaign. for media consumption.

He said, "Why do we have to cover this in the paper?" I can't say anything. You will have to wait until the fundraising committee is formed. Our presidential election commission does not solve all problems.

But when your fundraising committee members join you, you know who's the right person to ask the question. Until that happens, we can't tell you how we're going to raise the money."

Tinubu is staying at home

Also, Adebayo Shittu, CEO of the Asiwaju Tinubu-Shettima Good Governance Coalition, said Asiwaju Bola Tinubu's plans to increase his presidential campaign budget is not a matter of public works.

The former Minister of Communications emphasized that the director is "a self-made person who does not need external funds for electoral work".

Shittu said: We do not allow illegal activities on our behalf. Even if you raise money, there are bound to be legal provisions. Anyone who wants to do this must first look at the law.

“Asiwaju has the resources and many other people can also apply. As you may have heard, more people are coming in and asking how they can help their campaign.

“I have been running this campaign for some time without asking anyone for a kobo. It was my brains, hard work and money. I saw a lot of people all over the country doing the same thing."

Asked to confirm reports that some governors and MPs could be prosecuted over the campaign, Shittu said it was only speculation in "scamming the people who did it".

Atticus' campaign structure

Asked how the Peoples Democratic Party candidate Atiku Abubakar will finance his campaign, the spokesman for the Attiku Electoral Campaign Council said: “Any questions should be directed to INEC. . fly."

He got even angrier and said, “Can a candidate finance an election without a campaign structure? Has the campaign structure been announced? When you reach the bridge, you will cross it. How do you want us to raise money? I think we should wait until the structure of the campaign is known. Then you can ask questions about the campaign. This is because campaigns are campaign structures that look at your budget. If you want to cross a bridge, you have to be near the bridge before you cross it.''

However, Atiku's media adviser, Paul Ibe, said his principal would raise funds according to the Constitution. “Atiku Abubakar will raise funds for the campaign in accordance with the constitution and laws of the country,” Ibe said. He doesn't go any further. You can be sure of that. “Atiku will not withdraw money in any form that is illegal or contrary to the provisions of the Constitution. When financing an election campaign, he must comply with all provisions of the Electoral Law and the Constitution. Don't do what the law forbids."