2027 Elections: Cross River Approves ₦150m For Presidential Campaign Billboards

According to Ireporter Online, the new rates also require governorship candidates to pay ₦100 million, while senatorial candidates will be charged ₦50 million for outdoor campaign advertisements.

Candidates contesting seats in the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly are expected to pay ₦25 million and ₦5 million respectively.

The Director-General of CRISSAA, Ubong Sam, announced the tariffs during an interactive meeting with members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Calabar.

Sam also directed political parties and candidates to remove their campaign billboards and other advertising materials within 30 days after the declaration of election results.

He said the charges were moderate compared with those applicable in neighbouring states and maintained that the agency would treat all political parties and candidates fairly.

According to him, the measures were introduced to regulate the use of advertising spaces and promote fairness among political actors.

The CRISSAA director-general warned that parties and candidates who violate the regulations could have their campaign materials removed, face fines or be prosecuted before the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

He further noted that ARCON penalties could run into millions of naira.

Sam explained that the 30-day deadline for removing campaign materials would begin immediately after the results of each election were announced. Materials left beyond the stipulated period, he said, could be regarded as a nuisance.

The Cross River State Chairman of IPAC, Effiom Edet, backed the new tariffs, describing them as reasonable.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Inter-Party Affairs, Nkoyo Otu, also assured political parties and other stakeholders that the implementation of the policy would be transparent.

However, some opposition parties in the state rejected the new charges, describing them as excessive.

The state chairman of the Action Democratic Party, Apostle Edet, and the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mike Ojisi, argued that the tariffs could disadvantage parties and candidates with limited financial resources.

Ojisi also said he was not part of any IPAC meeting where the new rates were agreed upon.

He described the presidential billboard charge as unreasonable and alleged that it could restrict opposition parties from effectively using outdoor advertising to reach voters ahead of the 2027 elections.

The PDP spokesman maintained that the ₦150 million tariff was excessive and unacceptable, arguing that it could create an uneven playing field for political parties during the campaign period.