The House of Representatives has approved a significant increase in campaign spending limits for candidates contesting elective offices in Nigeria, raising the ceiling for presidential candidates from N5 billion to N10 billion.
The decision was taken on Thursday during plenary following the clause-by-clause consideration of a report proposing amendments to the Electoral Act 2022.
Under the approved amendments, the maximum amount a gubernatorial candidate can spend on election campaigns was increased from N1 billion to N3 billion, while the limit for senatorial candidates was raised from N100 million to N500 million.
Candidates seeking election to the House of Representatives will now be allowed to spend up to N250 million, up from the previous N70 million. For state House of Assembly elections, the spending cap was reviewed upward from N30 million to N100 million.
At the local government level, chairmanship candidates will be permitted to spend up to N100 million, compared to the former limit of N30 million, while the ceiling for councillorship candidates was doubled from N5 million to N10 million.
In addition to campaign expenditure limits, the lawmakers also approved an increase in the maximum amount individuals or entities can donate to candidates. The donation cap was raised from N50 million to N500 million.
The amendments form part of ongoing legislative efforts to review Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of the 2027 general elections.
On Wednesday, the House had also approved a proposal mandating the real-time electronic transmission of election results, another key reform under consideration.
The proposed amendments will become law after concurrence by the Senate and assent by the President.
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