The Ebonyi State government’s move to regulate campaign activities with an alleged N150 million fee for political billboards and posters ahead of the 2027 general elections has sparked outrage, as opposition candidates and residents have kicked against it.

Describing the move as repressive and oppressive, they accused the state government of deploying different subtle measures to silence the opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.

Deputy Chief Whip of the Ebonyi State House of Assembly, Arinze Lucas Chukwu, at the Assembly’s plenary yesterday, moved a motion banning what can be described as indiscriminate pasting of political posters and billboards in the capital territory.

But the governorship candidate of theSocial Democratic Party (SDP) in the state, Dr Kingsley Agbor, deplored the bill, saying it was unfortunate and devastating.

Agbor said: “It is most unfortunate and devastating how our citizens liberated us from military rule only to see the government of the day in Ebonyi State taking us back to those dark eras. People paid the supreme price for this democracy, which some of us are toiling with today.  I have always wished that these dictators in civilian clothes joined the military to seize power by the barrel of a gun and rule as they please.

“The government once again wants to stifle the political space for the opposition political parties to operate. This is seen in the outrageous cost of elections and campaign billboards. To this government and its supporters, it is and must be a one-party state even when the constitution of Nigeria stipulates otherwise.

“Most times, stiff decisions like this come when the government is not very popular in the state. So, in a nutshell, the government wants to annihilate the opposition party once again, but in every democracy, opposition can never be silenced.”

Also, the governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the state, Splendour Oko-Eze, condemned the development and warned that the situation could degenerate into anti-democratic tendencies with negative consequences on the state.

In an open letter yesterday, Oko-Eze said: “I wrote this open letter to register my displeasure at the manner in which the Ebonyi State Government is maltreating opposition in the state. This law passed by the State House of Assembly prohibiting billboards and posters from candidates contesting elections is a deliberate attempt to stifle opposition parties in Ebonyi State. Where do you expect opposition parties’ candidates to get N150m just to be allowed to erect billboards and posters? This is autocratic leadership going on in our dear State.”