By Emma Una
Opposition parties in Cross River State have outrightly rejected tariffs imposed on parties before posting campaign materials like posters and banners on streets across the state.
A coalition of 12 Political parties under the aegis of the Coalition of Opposition Political Parties, COPP, sent the rejection message to the Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency, CRISSAA, on Tuesday, describing the tariff as excessive, anti-democratic and unacceptable.
COPP, in a statement signed by the State Chairmen of the ZLP, YPP, PRP, ACCORD, AAC, BOOT, NNPP, SDP, APM, PDP, LP, YP, ADC and others, the opposition parties declared that the fees could make political participation inaccessible for the opposition and less financially endowed candidates.
According to the document, CRISSAA is requesting the parties to pay the sum of 150 million for presidential candidates’ campaign materials, governorship candidates to pay the sum of N100 million, senatorial candidates N50 million, House of Representatives N25 million, and House of Assembly candidates N5 million for political campaign advertisements.
According to COPP, “these tariffs are outrageous, excessive, insensitive and completely unacceptable,” arguing that political advertisement is an important component of democratic participation because it allows candidates and political parties to communicate their policies, programs and messages to voters.
The coalition warned that imposing charges of such magnitude could disproportionately affect opposition parties, independent -minded candidates and citizens seeking to participate in the political process.
“Democracy thrives when political parties are able to compete on the strength of their ideas, programmes, competence and acceptance by the people — not on the depth of their financial resources”, the coalition of parties stated.
The opposition coalition demanded clarification on the legal and regulatory basis for the proposed fees, the methodology used to determine the amounts, why political parties were not consulted before imposition of the tariffs, the services and duration covered by each charge.
The group further expressed concern that the proposed tariff regime could create an uneven political playing field ahead of the 2027 elections if allowed to stand.
The parties therefore called on the Cross River State government and CRISSAA to immediately suspend and review the proposed charges pending consultations with all registered political parties and other stakeholders.
The group urged CRISSAA and the state government to engage political parties in constructive dialogue rather than impose measures that could generate tension in the political space.
COPP also called on civil society organisations, professional bodies, religious organisations, youth and women groups and other Cross River people to demand what it describes as a transparent, equitable and accessible political environment ahead of the 2027 elections.
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