Labour Party Tackles Soludo, Accuses Governor Of Removing Peter Obi’s Campaign Billboards

Labour party (LP) has accused Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo of Anambra State of removing the campaign billboards of its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi and that of the party’s senatorial candidate for Anambra Central, Senator Victor Umeh, mounted on the pedestrian flyover along the popular UNIZIK junction in Awka,.

The said the billboards were pulled down on the alleged order of the Anambra State government.

It was gathered on Sunday that officials of the Anambra Signage and Advertising Agency, ANSAA, have also set machinery in motion to remove all the LP billboards mounted in other major cities and towns in Anambra State and replace them with those of All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.

Although LP has accused the state governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, of personally giving the order, the Managing Director of ANSAA, Mr Tony Ujubuonu said the removal has nothing to do with Soludo.

An official of LP, who reacted on the development said: “The billboard at UNIZIK Temporary Site Junction was removed on the orders of Soludo. The advert, which was placed by an APCON registered advertising agency, was fully paid for.

“We are aware that Governor Soludo has sworn that he does not want Labour Party advert on strategic places and therefore directed ANSAA to refund the money paid for the advert.

“He has also ordered the removal of the Labour Party advert at the Afor Nnobi Gantry. The advert has been there since October, 2022 and was paid for five months.”

“Soludo said that he does not want Labour Party advert at such strategic places and ordered the Signage Agency to refund the money it received for the advert. He ordered the removal all OBIdient billboards across the state. It’s a direct instruction from him in an APGA meeting Those around asked him not do do that, but he insisted that it must be done.”

The state government had some months ago, placed a public notice announcement stating that presidential candidates would pay N10m , senatorial candidates N7m, House of Representatives candidates N5m and state House of Assembly candidates N1m as campaign fees.

However, the ANSAA managing director said whatever that was removed was as a result of a challenge his agency had with the agent that erected the board.

He said: “The bridge was having Labour Party billboard. If you recall, in August, 2022, we sent out a message to all political parties to pay up their campaign fees.

“None of them has paid their own. So most of the political parties that have not paid and have adverts on government assets were removed.

“It has nothing to do with the governor. The governor didn’t give any order. If they said they paid the campaign fees, let them give me the evidence. I should know who paid because I’m the ANSAA MD.

“They didn’t pay the campaign fees and we spoke to their media heads several times. We informed them about the enforcement and they haven’t paid it, so we decided to take down the adverts

“Anybody that tells you anything about the governor and the billboard is telling you lies. When the advert was removed, government refunded the advertising agency that mounted the advert its money.

“The money was refunded to the agency who owned the board, not to the client.

“We don’t deal directly with the Labour Party, but with the advertising agency that mounted the board.”

Umeh tackles Soludo

Reacting on the development, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for Anambra Central, Chief Victor Umeh described the action as undemocratic and unconscionable.

Umeh, who threatened to take legal action against the state government if the billboards were not restored any time soon, said the state government had no power in any extant law to regulate electoral processes, arguing that it is the sole responsibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Umeh said: ” There is nothing like campaign fees under the electoral law. No state government has a right to impose any fee on any candidate before he could campaign. There is no such law in Nigeria and no such law either in Anambra State passed by the State House of Assembly.

“If Soludo makes an executive order of humongous fees of N10m, N7m, etc before one could campaign in the state, that’s against democracy. You can’t prevent somebody from campaigning with arbitrary fees.”

Umeh said he had paid about N4m to his advertising agencies for billboards who accordingly had paid to the ANSAA the required fees for outdoor adverts.

He added, “It is INEC that sets rules for campaigns not state governments. State government doesn’t conduct elections. You can’t tax a candidate of a political party to pay a state government before he can campaign. No other state does that except Soludo’s state. Who did Soludo pay campaign fees to in 2021 when he contested for governorship.

“I have told the advertising agent to write to the state government to restore the billboard because it was a contract signed with them and I paid them full and they paid ANSAA.

“Why should Peter Obi pay N10m to Soludo before he could campaign in Anambra State and Umeh to pay N7m?

“There should be nothing on the way of any candidate to campaign to look for votes under the Electoral Law. What Soludo is doing is illegal. No government has a right to tax any candidate to pay any money before he can campaign. What he is saying is that if you can’t pay N10m or N7m you can’t campaign after being nominated by your party to contest election for them.

“It’s illegal to tax any candidate by the state government before the candidate begins to campaign. Matters about campaign are regulated by the Independent National Electoral Commission. Government has no hands in regulating political parties campaigns. No government has a right to place tax on any candidate for campaigning. Campaign is an open and free thing to solicit for vote. Government cannot say that before you campaign for an office you have been properly documented by INEC, you have to pay fees.