“N200m Just To Put Up Campaign Billboards?” - Makinde Drags Otti To Court Over Abia Campaign Fee

The 2027 presidential race has taken a legal turn after Oyo State Governor and Allied Peoples Movement (APM) presidential candidate Seyi Makinde dragged Abia State Governor Alex Otti and other state authorities before the Abia State High Court over an alleged N200 million campaign advertising fee.

Makinde and the APM filed the suit on September 17, 2026, through their lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Musibau Adetunbi. Otti, the Abia State Attorney-General, the Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ASAA), and the state House of Assembly were listed as defendants.  At the centre of the dispute is an alleged requirement for presidential candidates to pay N200 million before displaying campaign materials and outdoor advertisements in Abia State.

Makinde and the APM are challenging the fee's legality, arguing that it is inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and provisions of the Electoral Act 2026. They are asking the court to set aside the regulations imposing the charge and stop the defendants from enforcing it.

The plaintiffs also want an injunction preventing the authorities from removing, defacing, destroying or obstructing their campaign billboards and outdoor advertisements in the state.

They argue that if every state demanded hundreds of millions of naira from presidential candidates for campaign advertising, candidates could struggle to remain within the spending limits prescribed by federal electoral law. 

The plaintiffs acknowledge that states have powers to regulate outdoor signposts, but argue that they should not exercise those powers in ways that conflict with federal electoral legislation.

They therefore ask the court to declare the alleged N200 million presidential campaign fee unconstitutional, inconsistent with federal law, and null and void.