Any presidential candidate wishing to display his or her campaign billboard in any part of Abia State will have to cough out the sum of N200m. The State's advertising agency, Structure for Signage and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA), through its Director of Strategy and Innovation, Ndubuisi Nwogwugwu, disclosed this at ABSSAA’s 2026 Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum in Aba, adding that the one-time payment would cover the entire campaign and election period. Nwogwugwu explained that House of Assembly candidates unable to pay the full fee could share campaign billboards with their party’s governorship candidate. The agency warned that it would remove campaign billboards that fail to meet approved standards or pose risks to public safety, and maintained that the policy applies to all political parties and is not intended to discriminate against any candidate. It disclosed that governorship candidates will pay N150m to display campaign materials in approved advertising spaces across Abia, Senatorial candidates will pay N100m, House of Representatives candidates N50m, and State House of Assembly candidates N20m respectively. Also speaking at the event, the Director General of the Abia State Bureau of Strategic Communication, Onyebuchi Ememanka, said the charges were not designed to stifle opposition parties but would apply uniformly across the political spectrum. The stakeholders’ forum was attended by representatives of political parties, advertising professionals, and government officials. In a reaction, Chairman of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Abia State, Kalu Kalu, who spoke on behalf of his party however rejected the policy, arguing that the fees contravene the provisions of the Electoral Act on campaign finance limits and fair political competition.

Posted: 2weeks ago

Author: Editor in Chief

Current date: 14 August 2026