• Flays Soludo for passing LG law
• Abia LG poll candidates to pay N1m, N500,000 for adverts
Ohanaeze Ndigbo, yesterday, called on President Bola Tinubu to withhold funds meant for local councils due to the overbearing attitude of state governors.
The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation alleged that governors were arm-twisting local council chairmen over the funds.
However, Abia State Signages and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA) has imposed N1 million and N500,000 advertising fees on candidates for the November 2, 2024 local council election.
It also threatened to confiscate the campaign advertising materials mounted or circulated without pre-paying the approved fees or charges.
A statement by Ohanaeze’s factional Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro, described the actions of the governors as an egregious affront to democratic principles and the rightful autonomy of local councils across Nigeria.
Isiguzoro said: “It is a tragic irony that these custodians of our collective governance are using their offices as instruments of oppression, effectively brutalising the 774 local councils and sapping them of their financial independence and operational integrity. The recent judicial mandate by the Supreme Court, which unequivocally granted full administrative and financial autonomy to local councils, is flouted with impunity. Such conduct is a derision of the foundational tenets of our democratic framework, which relies on the co-equal functioning of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government.”
Ohanaeze expressed deep disappointment that such a regressive and condemnable agenda could originate from a Southeast governor.
“We call upon him to act swiftly to withdraw this reprehensible and unlawful bill, which stands as a direct threat to the autonomy and operational capacity of our local councils. We significantly caution that signing this bill into law could irreparably damage his prospects for re-election in the forthcoming 2025 gubernatorial elections of Anambra State.”
ABSSAA Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Victoria Onwubiko, told The Guardian that the fees were N1 million for chairmanship candidates and N500,000 for the councillorship.
According to her, the approved fees, which are for campaign advertising by the candidates or political parties, “must be fully paid up before any billboard, posters vehicle branding or other advertising materials are placed in any public space” across the state.
In addition, each chairman and councillor will, after the election, pay a N100,000 penalty, if they fail to remove the campaign materials, and thus compel the agency to dismantle them.
Onwubiko also warned, “Campaign materials whose contents work against the spirit of fair play and decency will be removed and confiscated.”
ABSSAA said an approval certificate will be issued to the candidate upon presentation of evidence of the full payment made into the designated account and brought to the agency’s offices at Umuahia or Aba.
Chairmanship and councillorship candidates that spoke separately on condition of anonymity, described the fees as excessive, in view of the 13 days’ timeframe stipulated by the state electoral commission for their campaigns.
The campaigns, according to the commission’s election timetable, are to last from October 18 to 31.
