The removal of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, from his campaign billboard by the Anambra State government has been criticized as both undemocratic and repugnant by Chief Victor Umeh, the party’s candidate for Anambra Central.
The state government has no authority under any current law to regulate electoral processes, according to Umeh, who threatened to sue the state government if the billboards were not restored soon. He claimed that the Independent National Electoral Commission is the only body with the authority to do so (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.
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“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 that he had paid his billboard advertising agency approximately N4 million, and they in turn had paid the ANSAA the necessary payments for outdoor advertisements.
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?
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“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.”
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