Nigeria's Elites Owe Voters Answers, Experts Say

Three opposition politicians now sit inside President Bola Tinubu's re-election campaign machinery. A Nigerian essayist wants to know why. In an October 17, 2026, piece titled "The Judases of Democracy: How political elites undermine voter's mandate," Stephanie Shaakaa questioned the roles of Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance and Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party. They were named coordinators for the FCT and Rivers State, Anambra State, and Osun State, respectively.

That same day, a separate Daily Trust interview raised a related question: who holds Nigeria's powerful to account? Associate Professor Babayo Sule of the University of Namibia argued that public officials' conduct must stay tied to ordinary people's realities.

Different Party Cards, Same Pocket

Shaakaa distinguished between cooperating with a president on security, infrastructure and development and helping him win another term. "Different party cards, same pocket," her essay said. Politics involves interests, she wrote, and alliances are inevitable. Politicians shouldn't be imprisoned by past affiliations. But the freedom to change allegiance doesn't erase their duty to explain choices with consequences for the electorate.

She asked what achievements had persuaded Wike, Soludo and Adeleke that Tinubu deserved a second term. Which shortcomings did they consider acceptable? What did they expect another term to accomplish? Their participation shouldn't automatically count as a formal endorsement by their parties, she noted, yet supporters deserved to know whether the arrangements reflected personal choices or a wider opposition shift.

Opposition parties, she argued, exist to scrutinise government, expose failures and offer voters another course. That scrutiny is warranted when politicians expect voters to take party differences seriously at election time but say little when those differences become inconvenient. A campaign council can't establish presidential performance or confer a mandate. Only voters can. As 2027 approached, she said, the three men, their parties and the ruling APC all had a responsibility to explain their positions and defend Tinubu's record. Alliances can shift in a democracy, she concluded, but when voters lose faith in meaningful change, trust is in crisis.

Constituency Projects Under the Microscope

Sule's interview focused on Abubakar Bichi, chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, whose birthday celebration and constituency interventions have drawn attention. Sule called the celebration extravagant and opulent amid widespread poverty, including in Bichi's constituency. He said money reportedly spent on it could have supported education, poverty reduction or empowerment initiatives. Newspaper advertisements alone didn't establish that anyone sought a favour or that public money paid for the event, he added. Those claims need evidence.

Sule opposed the constituency project system itself. The constitution, he said, assigns the legislature the jobs of making and amending laws and overseeing the executive; the executive should primarily carry out development projects. He called for a clear demarcation among the three arms of government. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly described constituency projects as diverting resources meant for the executive, Sule noted, while former President Goodluck Jonathan voiced concern about wasted public resources. Former President Muhammadu Buhari reportedly said more than n2 trillion had been allocated to such projects between 1999 and his administration. Some projects, Sule said, turn out flamboyant and useless: stadiums in villages, conference centres, skills acquisition centres without proper equipment.

He did credit some Bichi-linked work, especially efforts supporting human development. A June 2026 report said Bichi paid approximately N40 million in tuition or registration fees for 2,423 students at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Bichi, for the first semester of the 2025/2026 academic session. Sule commended that effort. Reports have also linked Bichi to an approximately 2,000-unit housing project, school improvements, road construction, skills acquisition centres, an e-library and a mini stadium in Bichi.

Access, Influence and the Oversight Gap

Sule explained the importance of the Appropriation chairmanship. Bichi chaired the House Committee on Works from 2019 to 2023, overseeing federal roads, bridges and other public works. That experience likely built relationships with federal agencies and infrastructure stakeholders. The Appropriation Committee scrutinises proposed federal spending and budget proposals from ministries, departments and agencies, and can ask questions and recommend changes before approval. The post brings bargaining power over constituency projects and allocations, plus national visibility. Sule cautioned that any chairman's influence depends on other lawmakers and the executive's proposals.

He pointed to the record. Senator Danjuma Goje chaired the Senate Committee on Appropriation between 2015 and 2019 and reportedly described his own influence in an interview. In 2016, Abdulmumin Jibrin, a former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, alleged irregularities in the National Assembly's budget process; officials subsequently suspended him. Former lawmaker Gudaji Kazaure has made allegations in interviews about questionable activities in the National Assembly. Sule said those claims require appropriate investigation.

Who Should Watch the Watchers

Sule called for clear procedures, documented decisions, effective oversight and public access to information. Allegations of bribery, improper influence or budget manipulation should be investigated, he said. Scrutiny of officials' wealth should rely on verifiable facts, not speculation or political hostility. He named the Centre for Democracy and Development, BudgIT and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project as civil society groups doing accountability work. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission and the Code of Conduct Bureau should verify asset declarations, examine unexplained wealth and investigate credible allegations involving public resources, he said. He cited proceedings involving former Senate President Bukola Saraki before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, noting concerns about political motivations while insisting allegations should face lawful procedures.

He also called for impartial, due-process investigations into constituency-project expenditure, delivery, accounting and procurement. He urged institutional independence and adequate, reliable funding for anti-corruption agencies, with transparent oversight. Civil society groups, he said, should translate reports into Hausa, Fulfulde, Igbo and Yoruba and share findings through short video and audio clips. Voters should choose candidates with records of integrity, monitor representatives after elections and demand explanations. Journalists should dig into public spending and credible concerns about unexplained wealth.

Why This Matters: Both pieces circle the same question: who answers to voters between elections? Shaakaa's essay shows how shifting alliances can leave citizens unsure what their ballot buys, while Sule's interview shows how budget power, thinly explained wealth and constituency spending can blur the line between legislating and spending public money. Poverty is widespread even in the constituency of a powerful appropriations chairman, Sule noted, making the stakes concrete. Money spent on lavish celebrations or loosely supervised projects is money not spent on schools, jobs or poverty reduction. Independent, properly funded anti-corruption agencies, public access to budget information and an engaged press and civil society help citizens learn whether their representatives serve them. As 2027 approaches, that scrutiny matters most.