Anambra Agency Targets N800m Revenue from 16 Guber Candidates in Campaign Ads

By Praise Chinecherem

Each of the governorship candidates of the various political parties participating in the Anambra 2025 Governorship Election is to pay the State Signage and Advertisement Agency, ANSAA, the sum of N50,000,000.

The sum, which is to be paid into the Anambra State Government’s coffers, 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, among others, in locations across the cities, villages and communities of the 21 Local Government Areas of the State.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of ANSAA, Tony-Odili Ujubuoñu, during a press briefing with newsmen at the ANSAA state office in Awka, on the out-of-home promotions and visual campaign guidelines for political parties’ campaigns for the Anambra State Gubernatorial Election 2025.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, through its National Commissioner and Chairman, Information & Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, had, in a press release, said 16 out of 19 registered political parties will participate in the poll.

This brings the total number of campaign fees to be raked in by the ANSAA from the campaigns to N800,000,000.

Addressing newsmen in Awka on Wednesday, Mr Ujubuoñu noted 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.

He appealed to all political parties, their supporters, and the general public to be considerate of other users of the advertising and visual promotion space in the state and refrain from defacing the campaign materials of opponents.

The ANSAA boss warned that no individual, political party, or support group is permitted to erect billboards or any advertisement structures in any part of Anambra State, adding that only advertising practitioners registered and licensed by ARCON 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.

“This is a campaign among brothers. It is a campaign to assist Anambra people to fulfil their civil duty and not a do-or-die affair.

“We urge all candidates, their supporters, and the general public to avoid violence, provocation, and any form of unprofessional conduct as it relates to public promotion, advertising, and campaign. Let us approach it in the true spirit of Anambra, with peace, mutual respect, and dignity,” he advised.

Ujubuoñu explained that the 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, controlling outdoor structures to be used for signage and advertisements across the State.

The Agency, he noted, is empowered to issue permits and licenses for the construction and deployment of signage and advertisements, ensure environmental aesthetics, and collect the appropriate revenues on behalf of the State Government.

He said, “We wish to formally inform all political parties and candidates participating in the 2025 gubernatorial election of the mandatory requirement to obtain a campaign permit from ANSAA before commencing campaign activities that require visual promotions and rallies.

“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,” Ujubuoñu explained.