Afenifere backs Oyebanji, denounces new group
The Ekiti State Signage and Advertisement Agency (EKSAA) announced on Wednesday that the 12 political parties participating in the June 20 governorship election would be required to pay a campaign signage and Advertisement fee of N60 million before displaying posters anywhere in the state.

According to the agency, each political party is required to pay N5 million. It vowed to begin enforcing approved fees and levies on the erection and display of both commercial and non-commercial signs and advertisements across the state.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, in the state, yesterday, reiterated its support for Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Director-General of EKSAA, Adebisi Adesua, while speaking on an audience-participatory simulcast programme, Ekiti Today, explained that the enforcement would cover a wide range of signage, including billboards, streetlight poles, posters and vehicle branding, in line with existing state laws.

According to Adesua, the move is aimed at curbing illegal signage and promoting orderliness. He noted that EKSAA was established to regulate and control outdoor advertising in the state, ensuring that signage is safe, visually appealing, and supportive of orderly urban development.
He, however, stated that the fee covers the entire campaign period across all local councils, wards and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

CHAIRMAN of Afenifere in the state, Jonathan Alade, and the Secretary, Mrs Ronke Okusanya, dissociated the organisation from a group known as Afenifere Ekiti, describing its members as self-seekers.

Afenifere Ekiti had, during a recent stakeholders’ meeting of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), expressed support for the party’s governorship candidate in the June 20 governorship election, Dare Bejide.

The group had said, “The decision (to support the ADC) transcends mere political support; it is a cultural and ideological alignment. Afenifere Ekiti, the guardian of progressive Yoruba ethos and governance values, has chosen to drum support not just for a candidate, but for a direction it believes Ekiti desperately needs.”

However, the leadership of Afenifere, in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary, Biodun Akin-Fasae, and made available to our correspondent in Ado Ekiti yesterday, said it had no association with the group.

“We categorically disassociate ourselves from this group of political opportunists and charlatans. They are not members of Afenifere, nor do they have any authority to speak on our behalf,” the statement reads.