By Pascal Ibe
Introduction
The decision by the Abia State Government to fix N200m for presidential campaign billboard permits in the state on Wednesday has sparked criticisms and anger among many Nigerians.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the political campaigns kicking off in less than three weeks from now, many Nigerian states have seen this season as the time to generate much revenue from advertisements from the politicians.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Abia State Structures for Signages and Advertising Agency (ABSSAA) disclosed that “Presidential candidates will pay N200 million, Governorship candidates will pay N150 million, Senatorial candidates will pay N100 million, House of Representatives and Assembly candidates will pay N50 million and N20 million respectively.”
The administration of Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has continued to face severe backlash over the over-high campaign advertising permit fees.
Critics argue the policy is a tool to suppress political opposition ahead of the 2027 elections.
An activist, Omoyele Sowore, labelled the decision a “massive scam” on social media over the steep permit costs.
The Abia State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party condemned the fees as “manifestly anti-democratic” and urged INEC to intervene against the state.
Many people on social media, particularly on the X platform, have accused the supporters of Governor Alex Otti of being hypocritical for defending outrageous policy in Abia State.
Supporters of the ruling All Progressives Congress wondered if Governor Otti’s supporters would be happy if the high campaign advertising permit fees were to be introduced in other states.
Claim
With the policy now in Abia, two influencers on X have claimed that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, recently fixed N750 million for presidential campaign billboard permits in the Nigerian capital.
The X users, @emmaikumeh and @WOkene in separate posts on Friday, wrote, “Breaking: Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike has fixed N750 million for presidential campaign billboard permit in the FCT.”
The two separate posts with the same claim have garnered over 56,000 views combined as of Friday evening, with hundreds of reposts and likes.
FACTWATCH Nigeria observed that many people who commented on the posts believed the claim.
For instance, an X user, Ugwuoke Christian, while reacting to the claim, said, “It is a matter of time before these so-called leaders set this country on fire. Power is power but it hardly lasts.”
This comment and many others, and also because the claim is gradually going viral, were the reasons we decided to run a check on it.
Verification
First, we reached out to Lere Olayinka, the spokesperson for the FCT minister, for clarification on whether Wike fixed the billboard advertisement fees at that high price.
Responding to FACTWATCH Nigeria via a message on WhatsApp on Friday evening, Olayinka refuted the claim.
In his words, “Not all.”
We further checked the official Facebook page of the FCT Administration Abuja, a page that updates the residents with the latest information about the government’s decisions.
However, no information on the page corroborated this claim.
Further search showed no reputable news organisation in Nigeria reported the claim that the FCT minister fixed the billboard advertisement price at a high price of N750 million for presidential candidates.
Verdict
This claim is therefore, FALSE.
