Allow opposition parties breathe – ADP guber candidate tackles Gov. Uzodinma
...Says 'N54m billboard fee atrocious, sinful'
Dr. Kachi Nwoga, the candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP) in the November gubernatorial election in Imo State, has accused Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, of axiphiating opposition political parties in the state.
He rejected the over N54 million fee imposed by the Imo State Advertisement and Signage Agency, IMSAA, on political parties intending to erect campaign billboards ahead of the November 11 election, describing it as sinful and atrocious.
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The General Manager of IMSAA, Chibuzor Umunnakwe, had in a circular notified all political parties that are taking part in the forthcoming governorship election to apply for permits before erecting political billboards, out-of-home displays, and ancillary materials, and imposed N54 million erection fee, among sundry fees.
The letter, which was dated June 7, but the agency insisted that the rates took retroactive effect from April 1.
However, Nwoga stated his position to the charge known in an appeal letter to the national headquarters of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, titled: “Petition Against N54m Campaign Levy Imposed on All Opposition Parties by Hope Uzodimma-led Imo government.
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Nwoga on Monday told newsmen in Abuja that the move was meant to frustrate opposition parties in order to give Uzodimma an advantage ahead of other contestants in the November 11 governorship poll.
“The opposition is not allowed to breathe. I cannot go and put up a billboard today because, by the time they are telling me to pay N54 million naira to put up a billboard, it means I cannot put up a billboard,”he said.
“I don’t know any state anywhere, even if you need to convert it to dollars; nobody can charge this kind of money. It’s obscene, it’s atrocious, it’s sinful. That’s what they’re asking the opposition to pay.
“And I intend to ask since the entire state up and down is filled with the billboard of one particular person, I really want to know how much the state has made from that one person, if this is how much you have to pay for billboards.”
