Anambra guber: ADC rejects payment of N50m campaign permit

Anambra State Chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has rejected the announced payment of N50 million naira by the Anambra State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA), for the 16 governorship candidate contesting for November 8, 2025 governorship election in the state.

Anambra ADC chairman, Mr Patrick Obianyo, who rejected the fee on behalf of the party while briefing Journalists in Awka on Thursday, June 12th, 2025, described the development as unconstitutional, undemocratic, and a plot by the incumbent governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of the All Progressive Grand Alliance APGA to stiff opposition.

Recall that the State Signage and Advertising Agency (ANSAA), on Wednesday, June 11th, 2025 urged every governorship candidate contesting for November 8 poll to pay what he described as statutory fee of N50,000,000 for outdoor advertising purposes.

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The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, ANSAA, Mr Tony Ujubuonu, who disclosed this at a press conference held in his office, Awka, explained that the fee grants the contestants right to deploy their campaign materials such as posters, branded vehicles, among others.

According to him, political parties and support groups could equally make the one-off payment on behalf of the contestants otherwise they would not be allowed to display their campaign materials in any part of the State.

He added that the agency has duly informed all the political parties and their candidates, including Governor Chukwuma Soludo of All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), noting that he would make them public as soon as they begin to comply.

Reacting further to the development, the chairman said the ADC would challenge what he also described as political extortion in the Court if the Agency failed to step down the fee.

He noted that the party under his watch didn’t receive any notification from the Agency.

According to Obianyo, what we are currently experiencing in Anambra political space at the moment, has never happened before in the state since the return of democracy in Nigeria in 1999.

“The development is a plot by the incumbent governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo to harass and intimidate opposition out of the guber race. We can not be intimidated. We will not pay and we will campaign across the 21 local government areas of the State.

“Governor Soludo didn’t pay any campaign permit fee when he contested his first governorship election in 2010 under the umbrella of People Democratic Party (PDP).

“Therefore, the governor should not use ANSAA to intimidate and harass his co-contester.

Obianyo, urged other political parties contesting the election to also reject the payment totally.