Candidates entering Nigeria’s 2027 election cycle face billboard-permit charges that vary by state, with Abia setting a ₦200 million presidential rate and a court upholding Enugu’s ₦150 million fee.
The Abia State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSSAA) schedule sets fees of ₦150 million for governorship candidates, ₦100 million for senatorial candidates, ₦50 million for House of Representatives candidates and ₦20 million for state assembly candidates. The guidelines set one permit charge for each candidate for the campaign, with no separate charge for each billboard or location. Rental, agency, production, installation and maintenance costs are additional.
Section 92 of the Electoral Act 2026 caps presidential candidates’ election expenses at ₦10 billion and governorship candidates’ at ₦3 billion. The cited provisions do not clarify whether state permit fees count toward those limits.
The Federal High Court in Enugu dismissed opposition parties’ challenge to the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency’s (ENSSAA) authority to impose its fee. The certified judgment says local governments have authority over outdoor advertising and may delegate that power to a state agency. The Guardian reported that Secretary to the Government Prof. Chidiebere Onyia said the ₦150 million charge applies to each political party. The directive also refers to candidates, leaving the fee’s payer basis unsettled.
Conflicting Kogi State Government statements leave the approved presidential rate unclear. One statement said the fee had been reduced from ₦150 million to ₦25 million; another described ₦25 million as a proposal from party representatives that had not been approved. Vanguard, citing the Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency’s director-general, reported tariffs of ₦150 million for presidential campaign advertising and ₦100 million for governorship advertising.
ABSSAA officials say their fees apply equally across parties and are intended to support public safety and environmental cleanliness. At an ABSSAA forum, Sola Akinsiku, president of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of Nigeria, said through a representative that the rates were unsustainable and could hurt political advertising and voter education. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled presidential and National Assembly elections for Jan. 16, 2027, followed by governorship and state assembly elections on Feb. 6, 2027.
