By Ovat Abeng
Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ANSAA) has disclosed that only five out of sixteen registered political parties have so far complied with the out-of-home promotions and visual campaign guidelines for political parties participating in the November 8, 2025 Anambra State governorship election.
The agency made the disclosure Tuesday at a press briefing in Awka where it named Young Progressives Party (YPP); African Democratic Congress (ADC); Action Alliance (AA); Labour Party (LP) and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) as political parties that met up with the requirement of N50 million fee.
The agency disclosed that the five political parties fulfilled ANSAA requirement in late June except the APGA which complied on July 2, 2025.
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The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the agency, Tony Odili Ujubuonu told journalists at the briefing that one political party (apparently referring to the All Progressives Congress) had deliberately violated the law as it concerns the agency.
He said despite refusing to obtain the mandatory campaign permit, the party in question had proceeded to engage in unauthorized promotional activities.
The ANSAA CEO mentioned erection of posters; branding vehicles; hoisting banners; organizing events filled with promotional items bearing party names and logos; installing unapproved billboards at irregular sites without registered practitioners and due vetting from the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) as among the illegal activities of the party.
“Most troubling is a recent incident in Nri, Anaocha Local Government Area, where this political party resorted to violence to obstruct an official ANSAA team on lawful assignment.
“Prior to this, the party had been issued two demand notices within a period of two months and with a two-week compliance window, followed by a legal reminder with an additional one-week timeline. All were ignored.
“On August 1, 2025, after the expiration of our last leash of kindness and amidst the altercation at NRI, the party suddenly rushed in a backdated letter to our office, claiming a dispute over the same campaign fee that other political parties had already paid, clearly an attempt to delay compliance and distract from their unlawful actions.
“The letter was received but because it came after our grace period, we could do nothing about it,“ the statement read in part.
Mr Ujubuonu said the assault on ANSAA staff at Nri was reported to the police, adding that the agency would continue to take all lawful steps necessary to uphold the integrity of its mandate.
He assured all political parties that had decided to obey the law by full compliance that ANSAA would do everything within the law to ensure that their co-operation with the agency was not misplaced.
“All Progressives Congress (APC) is a highly respected political party that has given our country a highly respected President who is both progressive and law-abiding. We are surprised that in Anambra State, the party has fallen into the hands of brigands and deviants who think that civility is a culture for the weak and opt to employ violence and disregard for the law in carrying out their politicking,“ he noted.
He further said the agency also acknowledged that some of the remaining political parties had opted for alternative campaign platforms such as social media, radio or television to avoid breaching the established regulations.
He explained that the approach was acceptable provided it did not violate the out-of-home advertising laws in Anambra State.
The CEO said the ANSAA as an agency strongly urges Ndị Anambra and the general public to disregard what he described as disinformation, truth-flipping and narrative construction being circulated by the APC.
“It’s important that we collectively insist on a level playing field where only law-abiding parties and candidates are considered credible choices in the November 8 governorship polls.
“We call on the press and all well-meaning citizens to bear witness: ANSAA has explored every civil and administrative channel to engage this political party. We are now fully within our legal rights to enforce compliance, and we shall do so with the professionalism that our agency is known for,“ he added.
