Cross River Fixes ₦150m Tariff for Presidential Campaign Billboards
The Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency (CRISSAA) has approved a ₦150 million tariff for outdoor campaign advertisements by presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Under the new tariff, governorship candidates will pay ₦100 million, while senatorial candidates are expected to pay ₦50 million for outdoor campaign advertisements.
Candidates contesting seats in the House of Representatives and State House of Assembly will pay ₦25 million and ₦5 million respectively.
CRISSAA Director-General, Ubong Sam, announced the new rates 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 of the announcement of election results.
He described the tariffs as moderate compared with charges in neighbouring states and maintained that the agency would treat all political parties and candidates fairly.
According to him, the new measures were introduced to regulate advertising spaces, promote fairness and prevent the misuse of outdoor advertising platforms.
Sam warned that parties and candidates who violate the agency’s regulations could have their campaign materials removed, face fines or be prosecuted before the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
He said the 30-day removal period would begin immediately after the results of each election are announced, adding that campaign materials left beyond the deadline would be considered a nuisance.
The Cross River IPAC Chairman, Effiom Edet, supported the new tariffs, describing them as fair, while the Special Adviser to the Governor on Inter-Party Affairs, Nkoyo Otu, assured political parties and other stakeholders of a transparent process.
PDP, Others Reject ₦150m Tariff
However, some opposition parties have rejected the new charges, describing them as excessive and unaffordable.
The state chairman of the Action Democratic Party, Apostle Edet, and PDP Publicity Secretary, Mike Ojisi, criticised the tariffs, arguing that they could prevent smaller political parties and less-funded candidates from accessing billboards and other outdoor advertising platforms.
Ojisi also said he was not part of any IPAC meeting where the new tariffs were agreed upon.
He described the charges as unreasonable and argued that they could create an uneven playing field ahead of the 2027 elections.
“The tariff is outrageous, exorbitant and a ploy to prevent other political parties from carrying out massive publicity through billboards. The tariff is totally unacceptable,” he said.
