2027: Benue APC, PDP Trade Words Over Billboard Permits, Clearance

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Benue State chapter, has advised the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to comply with the law by obtaining a permit from the Signage and Advertisement Agency, clearance from the Urban Development Board and paying the prescribed fees before erecting or retaining billboards.

The APC urged the PDP Benue State chapter to stop raising a false alarm against Governor Hyacinth Alia, stating that the governor is not crippling the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Reacting to the PDP’s accusations on Wednesday, the Benue APC State Publicity Secretary, Benedict Yawe, said the ruling party and all its candidates would obtain billboard permits, clearance and pay the legal fees for its campaign billboards and other materials as prescribed by law.

Yawe told LEADERSHIP that, “We are calling on the PDP to stop raising a false alarm against the governor of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, over billboard permits and clearance. The Benue State laws are clear on this. The opposition PDP should obtain the permit and clearance from relevant government agencies. Our party, the APC, is also obtaining the permit and clearance for the party’s billboards.”

“We have already instructed all our candidates to comply with the government directive and obtain permit and clearance. The PDP is not above the law and the party should pay. We know the PDP is not on ground in Benue State and its members are good at seeking sympathy through false alarms,” he said.

Recall that the Benue State Government had given a two-week ultimatum to political parties, individuals and groups to obtain a permit from the Signage and Advertisement Agency, clearance from the Urban Development Board and pay the prescribed fees before erecting or retaining billboards.

In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Solomon Iorpev, the government warned that there would be no further notice before enforcement, which will commence on Tuesday, 20th October 2026.

Reacting to the government’s directive on Tuesday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Benue State Chapter, had said the directive issued by the Benue State Government was a plot by Governor Hyacinth Alia to cripple the opposition campaigns ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

PDP State Publicity Secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, in a statement, said any selective removal of opposition campaign materials “under the guise of enforcement will be interpreted as a direct attack on democratic freedoms and a dangerous abuse of state institutions for partisan purposes.”