*Condemns Governor Otti’s Draconian Assault on Political Participation
The Abia State Chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party strongly condemns the outrageous, punitive and manifestly anti-democratic campaign advertising charges announced by the Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertising Agency under the administration of Governor Alex Otti.
According to the rates announced by ABSSAA, presidential candidates seeking to display campaign materials in Abia State are expected to pay ₦200 million, while governorship candidates are to pay ₦150 million. Senatorial candidates are required to pay ₦100 million, House of Representatives candidates ₦50 million, and State House of Assembly candidates ₦20 million. The rates were reportedly unveiled during the agency’s 2026 stakeholders’ engagement forum in Aba.
The PDP considers this policy an outrageous commercialisation of the democratic space, a calculated assault on opposition candidates and an unconscionable attempt to convert political participation into the exclusive privilege of the wealthy and those with access to public funds.
This is not regulation. It is political extortion dressed in administrative language.
It is a cynical and oppressive revenue scheme apparently designed to frustrate legitimate campaigns, silence political opponents and deny less financially endowed candidates the opportunity to communicate with the Abia electorate.
Governor Otti must be reminded that Abia State is not his private estate and that ABSSAA is not an instrument that may lawfully be deployed to erect financial barricades against opposition political parties. Public advertising spaces are part of the democratic environment in which candidates must be allowed to canvass for votes under fair, transparent and reasonable conditions.
The imposition of these prohibitive charges raises grave questions about the Otti administration’s understanding of the campaign finance framework established by the Electoral Act 2026.
Section 92 of the Act limits the total election expenditure of a presidential candidate to ₦10 billion, a governorship candidate to ₦3 billion, a senatorial candidate to ₦500 million, a House of Representatives candidate to ₦250 million, and a State House of Assembly candidate to ₦100 million. A candidate who knowingly exceeds the applicable ceiling commits an offence and may, upon conviction, face a fine, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both.
For instance, the ₦20 million demanded from a State House of Assembly candidate represents 20 per cent of the candidate’s entire legally permitted election expenditure of ₦100 million. That is one-fifth of the candidate’s total campaign budget consumed by a billboard permit before accounting for the production and installation of the billboards, transportation, rallies, media publicity, campaign offices, agents, logistics, voter engagement and other legitimate expenses.
Similarly:
* The ₦50 million charge for a House of Representatives candidate represents 20 per cent of the legally permitted ₦250 million.
* The ₦100 million charge for a senatorial candidate represents 20 per cent of the legally permitted ₦500 million.
* The ₦150 million governorship charge consumes five per cent of the legally permitted ₦3 billion, even before the candidate produces or erects a single billboard.
* The ₦200 million presidential charge is imposed merely for access to advertising space in one state.
Assuming, without conceding, that all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory were to replicate Governor Otti’s ₦200 million charge, a presidential candidate would be required to spend ₦7.4 billion on permits alone. That would consume 74 per cent of the candidate’s entire ₦10 billion statutory spending ceiling before paying for the production, mounting or maintenance of a single billboard or undertaking any other campaign activity.
This exposes the absurdity, recklessness and anti-democratic character of the Alex Otti administration’s policy.
The unavoidable question is: Is Governor Otti deliberately attempting to compel opposition candidates to exhaust or breach their legally permitted campaign expenditure, or is his administration simply ignorant of the implications of the Electoral Act?
Either explanation is unacceptable.
At a time when Nigerians are demanding greater political inclusion, reduced election costs and a level playing field, the Otti administration has chosen to impose a financial blockade against democratic participation. The policy discriminates against candidates without access to state resources, discourages credible citizens of modest means and strengthens the influence of moneybags in the electoral process.
It is particularly disturbing that a government headed by a beneficiary of multiparty democracy would now seek to shrink the same democratic space through exorbitant and exclusionary charges.
The PDP also warns that a state government must not use signage regulation as a backdoor mechanism for suppressing the visibility of opposition candidates. Any policy whose foreseeable effect is to make campaign communication practically inaccessible to rival candidates is inconsistent with the principles of political equality, fairness and free electoral competition.
We therefore call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to take immediate notice of this dangerous development and caution Governor Alex Otti and the Abia State Government against policies capable of undermining a level playing field ahead of the 2027 elections.
INEC cannot remain indifferent while a state-controlled agency imposes charges that consume substantial portions of the expenditure ceilings candidates are legally required to observe. The Commission must engage the Abia State Government, examine the implications of the announced rates and issue appropriate guidance to prevent state institutions from frustrating lawful political campaigns.
We further call on civil society organisations, election-monitoring groups, the media, the Nigerian Bar Association and all defenders of democracy to reject this attempt to monetise political expression and financially suffocate opposition campaigns.
The PDP demands the immediate withdrawal of these outrageous charges and this draconian policy.
Any legitimate advertising fee must reflect the actual administrative cost of regulation and must not become a weapon for political exclusion, revenue exploitation or opposition suppression.
Governor Otti should understand that democracy is not strengthened by pricing opponents out of the public space. It is strengthened when every candidate, irrespective of party affiliation or financial strength, is allowed to present ideas freely to the electorate.
The Abia PDP will resist every attempt to use state institutions to intimidate, obstruct or financially cripple opposition candidates. We will explore every lawful political, regulatory and judicial avenue necessary to protect the democratic rights of our candidates, members and the people of Abia State.
Abia belongs to all Abians. Its political space cannot be auctioned to the highest bidder by the Otti administration.
Signed:
Sir Jude Udeachara
State Publicity Secretary
Abia State Chapter
Peoples Democratic Party
