The African Democratic Congress has vowed to challenge the Enugu State Government in court following the imposition of a mandatory N150m advertising permit fee for political parties participating in the 2026 and 2027 elections.

The party’s response came after the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency announced on Monday that all parties and candidates must pay the sum before deploying campaign materials, branding vehicles, or erecting billboards.

Announcing the fee, the General Manager of the agency, Mr Francis Aninwike, during a management meeting held at the agency’s headquarters in Enugu on Monday, said the directive was in line with the agency’s statutory mandate to regulate outdoor advertising and ensure environmental aesthetics across the 17 local government areas of the state.

He explained that the fee would grant parties the right to deploy campaign materials, including banners, branded vehicles, T-shirts, and handbills, as well as conduct street campaigns and rallies.

The statement read, “Every political party and candidate must obtain a campaign permit from ENSSAA before deploying any form of visual campaign or outdoor promotional materials. The statutory fee for the permit is N150m, payable to the Enugu State Government account.”

The ENSSAA boss noted that the measure was designed to prevent visual pollution, protect public infrastructure, and maintain professional standards during the electioneering period.

Aninwike further warned that any party or candidate that failed to comply with the directive would have their campaign materials removed and may face legal sanctions.

Addressing concerns of possible bias, Aninwike insisted that the guidelines would apply uniformly to all candidates, including incumbents.

He claimed that Governor Peter Mbah had consistently complied with the state’s advertising regulations in his previous and current official activities.

The agency also cautioned supporters against defacing the campaign materials of opponents, describing such acts as undemocratic and punishable under the law.

Reacting to the development, the ADC chairman for Igbo-Eze South and Chairman of Chairmen for Enugu North Senatorial Zone, Ugwu Izuchukwu, described the fee as a “draconian” attempt to stifle the opposition.

Izuchukwu alleged that the Governor Mbah-led administration intended to use state resources to dominate the visual landscape while pricing opposition parties out of the democratic process.

He said, “They want to use that to scare opposition political parties away so that they can win, but those antics will hold no water.

“For me as a party, I am ready to take them to court because you cannot impose N150m on political parties and their candidates for them to campaign or brand their vehicles. This is anti-democratic.

“Governor Peter Mbah wants to use the money to scare opposition away so they can erect billboards across the state with state resources.

“But one thing is sacrosanct: erecting billboards or branding vehicles doesn’t win an election. He can erect all the billboards he can, but he is going to fail because of his anti-people policies.”

The ADC chieftain further asserted that opposition members in the state would not be intimidated into silence or forced to leave the political space.

“We are not slaves in Enugu State; we have equal rights with him. We cannot run away because we are in opposition.

“It is not going to work. We are going to use every legal means available to stop what they have announced today,” Izuchukwu added. (The PUNCH)

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