PDP Rejects Abia Campaign Advertisement Charges, Calls Policy ‘Political Extortion’

UMUAHIA — The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the campaign advertisement fees introduced by the Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA), describing the charges as excessive, anti-democratic and capable of undermining political participation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Sir Jude Udeachara, on Thursday, the opposition party alleged that the policy was designed to frustrate opposition candidates and restrict access to the democratic space.

Recall that the State Government through the Abia State Structures for Signages and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA), disclosed during a “Stakeholders Forum on Political Campaign Advertising fees” held in Aba that every political party’s presidential candidate intending to campaign through billboards and posters will pay N200 million to obtain campaign advertising permit.

Mr Ndubuisi Nwaogwugwu, the Head of Department, Strategy, Innovation and Design, ABSSAA, announced the rate on Wednesday in Aba.

Nwaogwugwu said that the permit rates schedule applied to all political party candidates at all levels in Abia and had its basis in ABSSAA and other Abia Laws regulating signage and advertising.

However, responding, the PDP said ABSSAA’s newly announced rates which requires presidential candidates to pay ₦200 million for campaign advertisements in Abia State, governorship candidates ₦150 million, senatorial candidates ₦100 million, House of Representatives candidates ₦50 million, and State House of Assembly candidates ₦20 million represent a significant proportion of the spending limits prescribed under the Electoral Act 2026.

The party warned that they could force candidates to exhaust substantial portions of their legally permitted campaign budgets before undertaking other campaign activities.

The PDP maintained that the charges amount to “political extortion” and accused the administration of Governor Alex Otti of attempting to commercialise political participation and create financial barriers for opposition parties.

It questioned whether the state government had fully considered the implications of the Electoral Act, noting that if similar charges were adopted nationwide, presidential candidates could spend a large percentage of their statutory campaign expenditure limits on permit fees alone.

The opposition party called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to intervene by engaging the Abia State Government and reviewing the implications of the policy on electoral fairness.

The PDP also appealed to civil society organisations, election observers, the media and the Nigerian Bar Association to oppose what it described as an attempt to monetise political expression and suppress opposition campaigns.

The party demanded the immediate withdrawal of the advertisement charges, insisting that any regulatory fees should reflect only the actual administrative costs of signage regulation and should not be used as a tool for political exclusion.