By Vincent Ujumadu
Only five out of 16 political parties presenting candidates for the November 8 governorship election in Anambra State have paid the mandatory N50 million imposed on them by the Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency, ANSAA, according to the Managing Director of the organisation, Mr Tony Ujubuonu.
The five parties that paid were Young Progressives Party (YPP), which paid on June 24, 2025; African Democratic Congress (ADC) – June 26, 2025; Labour Party (LP) – June 27, 2025; Action Alliance (AA) – June 27, 2025 and All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) – July 2, 2025
The agency had on June 11, 2025, unveiled the official out-of-home advertising guidelines, including the stipulated campaign fee, which he said were designed to ensure orderliness, fairness, and aesthetic responsibility throughout the electioneering period.
Ujubuonu acknowledged that some of the political parties have opted for alternative campaign platforms such as social media, Radio, or Television to avoid breaching the established regulations.
He said that the approach by the affected political parties is acceptable to the agency, provided it does not violate the out-of-home advertising laws in Anambra State.
He, however, lamented an incident at Nri in Anaocha local government area where some members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, allegedly attacked the enforcement team of ANSAA for pulling down the party’s billboards in the community, which is the hometown of the deputy governorship candidate of APC.
Head of the enforcement team, Chika Ngobili, who narrated their experience at Nri, said: “On 1st of August, we went on enforcement and at Nri, we saw some APC campaign materials on unauthorised billboards even when they have not paid their campaign fee. We had no choice but to legally remove them.
“As we were doing our work, they descended on us, asking us all manner of questions. I told them that we came from ANSAA and that the reason we went for the enforcement was because APC has not paid the signage fee.
“The police officers present supported them and even said that every party has the right to mount their billboards in any part of the state.” unmolested. I told them that the reason we were carrying out the enforcement was that they had not paid for their campaign permit.
“They also collected our phones, beat us up, and attempted to collect the car key from us, which I refused. They threatened to burn us and the vehicle down. To save our lives, we had no choice but to hang back the campaign materials, so that we can live.”
Reacting further on the incident, Ujubuonu added: “APC is a highly respected political party that has given our country a highly respected president who is both progressive and law-abiding.
“We are surprised that in Anambra State, the party has fallen into the hands of brigands and deviants who think that civility is a culture for the weak and opt to employ violence and disregard for the law in carrying out their politicking.”
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