Oyo State Governor and Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Engr. Seyi Makinde and his party have sued Abia State Governor, Alex Otti over a N200 million campaign fee.
The lawsuit, filed on Sept. 17 aims to contest an alleged N200 million campaign fee imposed on presidential candidates seeking to push campaign materials in Abia State.
Specifically, the lawsuit includes the Abia State Governor, Attorney-General, State House of Assembly, and Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA).
Makinde and APM described the fee imposed by ABSAA as unconstitutional and violating the provisions of the 2026 Electoral Act.
Consequently, the Oyo Governor and his party want the court to set aside any fee imposed by ABSAA on presidential candidates. The plaintiffs also asked the court to restrain the defendants from enforcing the fee and removing advert placements across the state.
Additionally, they urged the court to declare the fee as unconstitutional to make it null and void ab initio.
According to the plaintiffs, the fee imposition could shut out non-incumbent candidates from getting the required visibility. They added that the imposed fee, if replicated across other states, could consume nearly 80% of the N10 billion campaign spending cap for Presidential candidates.
