Anambra 2025: Govt agency imposes N50m on 16 governorship candidates

---

Officials of ANSAA

---

By Madu Obi

Awka - As the campaigns for the November 8 governorship election takes off, the Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSAA) has imposed a fee of N50 million on each of the 16 candidates whose names have been released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The agency is, therefore, targeting N800 million from the candidates, including the incumbent governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo.

At a press briefing on the guidelines for political party campaigns for the Anambra State gubernatorial election 2025, the Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer of ANSAA, Tony Ujubuonu, said that payment of the amount is a mandatory requirement to obtain a campaign permit from ANSAA before commencing campaign activities that require visual promotions and rallies.

"In line with the regulatory framework guiding political campaign activities in Anambra State, following the lifting of the ban on political campaigns by INEC, we wish to formerly inform all political parties and candidates participating in the 2025 gubernatorial election of the mandatory requirement to obtain a campaign permit from ANSAA.

The purpose of this permit is to ensure orderliness, prevent visual pollution, create a level playing ground for all and maintain professional standards in the use of public advertising and visual promotion space and above all, to protect our public infrastructures.

The permit comes with a statutory fee of N50,000,000 payable to the Anambra State government account.

This campaign fee grants the parties the right to deploy their campaign materials and activities using posters, public address systems, branded vehicles, banners, fliers, buntings, T-shirts, caps, street storms, rallies and sundry in locations across the cities, villages and communities of the 21 local government areas of the state.

We expect that all campaign materials intended for outdoor display by political parties and candidates, advertising agencies and advertising practitioners must be vetted by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) before they are posted", Ujubuonu said.

According to him, no individual, political party, or support group is permitted to erect billboards or any advertisement structures in any part of Anambra State.

"Only advertising practitioners registered and licensed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) - a Federal Government agency - are authorized to erect and manage such structures within the state, as permitted by ANSAA. We advise all political parties and candidates to work with ARCON- registered practitioners to avoid sanctions or removal of unapproved materials", the ANSAA MD added.

Defending the imposition of the fee, he said that ANSAA was created by the Anambra State government and established by law on September 16, 2010, for the purpose of regulating the use of out-of-home advertising structures, control outdoor structures to be used for signage and advertisements across the state.

He warned that governorship candidates who fail to pay the fee would be sanctioned, adding that all the candidates have been informed of the fee.