…bigger donation limits, third-party spending and digital campaigns raise fresh concerns
Nigeria’s new N10 billion presidential campaign spending cap could prove difficult for the election regulator to enforce as political spending increasingly flows through support groups, donors, influencers, and digital platforms outside formal campaign structures.
The Electoral Act 2026 has doubled the legal campaign spending limit for presidential candidates from N5 billion to N10 billion, while raising the limit for governorship candidates from N1 billion to N3 billion.
The spending ceiling for Senate candidates has increased fivefold to N500 million from N100 million, while House of Representatives candidates can now spend up to N250 million, compared with N70 million previously.
The government has attributed the increases to inflation and the rising cost of election campaigns.
