Anambra sues governorship aspirants over N9m levy

The Anambra State Signage and Advertisement Agency has dragged two governorship aspirants in the state to court for not paying the required levy of N9m each before pasting their campaign posters in some parts of the state.

The Managing Director of ANSAA, Mr. Jude Emecheta, told our correspondent that the affected aspirants are Mr. Ezeemo of the Progressives Peoples Alliance and Dr. Tony Nwoye of the All Progressives Congress.

Emecheta said, “The law establishing ANSAA provides that no person, agency, local government or organisation can put up a structure without paying the mandatory fees. Every local government area in the state is a member of ANSAA and they share the revenue accruing from such levies with the state government.”

He further said the levy was not meant as a witch-hunt against any of the aspirants, as alleged in some quarters, as the incumbent governor, Willy Obiano, is also mandated to pay the levy before he would be allowed to display his posters.

He said the agency had recently dismantled and destroyed illegal billboards mounted by certain people, purporting to be working for Obiano’s re-election.

“Though the agency has removed the governor’s posters and dismantled the billboards erected along the Awka end of the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, the governor denied knowledge of the billboards and posters when ANSAA confronted him,” Emecheta said.

Reacting to the matter, the Anambra state chairman of the APC, Mr. Emeka Ibe, said the poster levy was unacceptable and meant to stifle the opposition.