Ex-NBA President, Osigwe, alleges state govts' usurping LG functions on Signages

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has accused some state governments of usurping functions constitutionally assigned to local governments, alleging that the development was being exploited to frustrate opposition political parties ahead of elections.

Osigwe made the allegation on Thursday at the ongoing 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), organised by the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) in Enugu.

Speaking in an opening session at the conference, themed, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” Osigwe cited the regulation of campaign billboards and other signages as an example of areas where state authorities had allegedly encroached on local government functions.

He alleged that some state governments had taken over the regulation of signage and imposed huge fees and fines on opposition parties seeking to erect campaign billboards.

According to him, the practice was making it difficult for opposition parties to put up their campaign materials, while raising questions about whether members of ruling parties were subjected to similar charges.

Osigwe said the situation could have serious implications for political competition, particularly where regulatory powers were allegedly being used to restrict the visibility of opposition parties.

“It’s making it difficult for opposition parties to put up their signages. Then putting huge cost on it that is doubtful whether the members of the ruling party in those states are paying,” he said.

He further alleged that in many of the states, campaign billboards belonging to members of the ruling party were more visible, while those of opposition parties were rarely seen.

“So, in most states, you only see the billboards of the members of the ruling party in that particular state, and not the opposition ones,” he said.

The former NBA president warned that the alleged use of regulatory powers in this manner could undermine equal participation in the electoral process and place opposition parties at a disadvantage.

His comments came amid wider discussions at the conference on the state of Nigeria’s democracy, electoral processes and the role of the media in sustaining democratic participation.