Abstract—This research work is based on the problems of inadequate finance regulation and enforcement of current regime of political parties finances in Nigeria. The Existing income streams of political parties in the country are characterized by, surreptitious financial support streams, influence peddling by few wealthy donors, who control the policy direction of the nation state and extensive use of state funds to finance political party activities. This study conducted structured interviews with policy makers in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties, international organizations that work to deepen democracy, political parties, and civil society organizations. The information from the interviews was further used to construct the research questionnaire, which was sent by email to a wider population, covering staff of the above organizations, and a segment of the voting public. The results achieved identified, that there is existence of weak legal and regulatory framework, haphazard administrative processes, and inadequate engagement and management of key segment of stakeholders in order to obtain their 'buy-in', as the major impediments to attaining an efficacious political finance monitoring and enforcement regime. Index Terms—Corruption, financial regulation, INEC, income streams, political party finance laws, stakeholders engagement. I. INTRODUCTION The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in their study of political party financing regimes in 22 countries, determined that clandestine political party financial support streams, influence peddling and the use of state funds to finance parties, which erode the confidence of citizens in democratic/political process, and engender corrupt practices, with a negative impact on national development [1]. Corruption in Nigeria increases the inter ethnic and religious tensions, constrain the capacity of the state to provide for its citizenry, impugn the credibility of political leaders, enthron nepotism, and enhance the ineffectiveness and inefficiency, resulting in economic under-development [2]. Corruption has debilitating effects on determinants of economic growth, like capital accumulation, and governance structures [3]. Even in developed democracies like the United Kingdom, with strong institutions and comprehensive political party finance reforms, public perceptions characterize political party finances with corruption, undue influence from few wealthy donors, and frivolous spending [4]. Manuscript received July 20, 2015; revised October 19, 2015. The authors are with the School of Project Management; Federal University of Science and Technology Owerri, Nigeria (e-mail: nwtrl@yahoo.com, nattdims@yahoo.com). Thethree models of political party financing regulation and law among nations as: 'unregulated autonomy, transparency, and advocacy' [5]. And, the normal sources of funding for political parties include; membership dues, income from party owned assets and businesses, membership levies, earnings from party publications, donations from individuals, corporate organizations, and industrial unions, as well as, subsidies from government [6]. In Nigeria, the constitution bars foreign donations of all sorts, to political parties. However, most party members are not economically buoyant, and this invariably results in elected officials dipping into state resources to finance parties, or the hijack of political party by a few wealthy individuals (Godfathers). The research conducted on the use of state resources to finance political party activities within South African Development Community (SADC) identified that the causative factors includes; absence of distinctive line between the party in power and government, prevalence of dominant parties within the community, weak national institutions and regulatory mechanisms, weak opposition parties, and existence of fragile and confused civil society groups [7]. A. Corruption in Political Parties’ Finance Political parties are organizations with individuals as members and employees, and are expected to have disparate cultures. The motives for the provision of political funding can be categorized into three; idealistic or ideological motive- engendered by the urge to propagate the providers ideological beliefs, social motive- aspiring to achieve social admiration or access to integrity and reputation, and financial motive, pushing for material gains [8]. While the third motive is understandable, as every investor would want some form of reward for the investment, it lies at the root of the problems associated with political corruption and can result in devastating consequences, as evidenced in several scandals related to political finance. The report of an integrated project - 'Making Democratic Institutions Work' carried out for the Council of Europe, cited numerous scandals that have occurred in member nations linked to financing political parties and elections, and established the urgent need to address this issue in order to restore the confidence of the citizenry in their political institutions and systems [9]. Corruption in political finance can take the form of illegal contributions, use of campaign resources for illegal transactions, use of state resources for campaign and political party activities, sourcing donations in return for favors when elected into office, acceptance of illicit contributions, among others [10]. Also, the identified typology of political finance-related corruption includes; unlawful expenses, inclusive of purchasing, accessing funds Investigating the Financial Income Streams of Political Parties in Nigeria E. O. Nwatarali and N. U. Dim International Journal of Innovation, Management and Technology, Vol. 6, No. 5, October 2015 358 doi: 10.18178/ijimt.2015.6.5.630