The Ebonyi State House of Assembly has approved a N150 million fee for presidential and governorship campaign billboards in Abakaliki ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The resolution, unanimously adopted on Wednesday, also sets the fee at N20 million for National Assembly candidates and N5 million for state assembly candidates.
The lawmakers ordered the termination of existing contracts with private fee collectors, transferring responsibility for collections and enforcement to the Commissioner for Capital City Development.
The decision followed a motion by the Deputy Chief Whip and Chairman of the House Committee on Capital City Development, Arinze Lucas Chukwu, representing Ishielu South Constituency.
Chukwu criticised the use of public buildings, electricity poles, streetlights, bridges and fences for campaign advertisements, citing environmental concerns and lost government revenue. He also blamed overlapping collection arrangements for revenue leakages and double taxation.
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Under the new rules, political parties, candidates and other advertisers must pay into a designated government account and obtain official receipts before displaying campaign materials in Abakaliki.
The commissioner is to designate approved advertising locations and establish a task force to remove unauthorised displays. Violators will pay an additional 50 per cent of the applicable fee.
The Assembly also directed the Chairman of the Ebonyi State Internal Revenue Service to terminate agreements with private consultants and collection agents and transfer relevant records to the commissioner.
Its committees on Capital City Development, Finance and Environment must monitor implementation and report back within 30 days.
The resolution was adopted after Speaker Moses Ije Odunwa put it to a vote.