Wike defends Abuja billboard price rise, says it is for revenue, not politics
- FCT Minister Nyesom Wike says higher Abuja billboard rates are meant to raise revenue, not to sideline opposition parties.
- Opposition parties say they cannot afford prime billboard space ahead of the 2027 elections while APC adverts dominate.
- Wike says no party has formally complained to him and that billboards do not decide elections.
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has defended the higher cost of billboard advertising in Abuja, saying the money is needed to generate revenue for infrastructure and not meant to shut opposition parties out of the 2027 campaign.
Wike spoke on Thursday at his monthly media briefing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. He was responding to complaints from opposition parties that prime billboard space in the capital has become too expensive for them, while adverts for the All Progressives Congress (APC) appear in major cities.
According to the minister, campaign spending is heavy in every country, and parties have other ways to reach voters. He pointed to social media as one option open to them.
He said the FCT needs the billboard income to fund its own projects. Asked whether the rates were raised to favour one party, he said the decision was about money, not about who was paying.
“We want money. The FCT wants money,” Wike said, adding that the funds would go into roads and schools.
He also played down the power of outdoor advertising in elections, saying many villagers never see billboards and that a billboard cannot by itself deliver votes.
No formal complaint, minister says
Wike said no political party had brought him a formal complaint that the prices were raised because they are in opposition. He asked anyone with a complaint to bring it to the FCT administration.
On fairness, he argued that big parties also pay for premium slots in radio and television, and that the FCT administration does not ask who is behind a booking when billboard space is paid for, sometimes a year in advance.
The complaints come as parties begin positioning for the 2027 general elections.
What happens next
Opposition parties who feel the rates are unfair can take their case formally to the FCT administration, which Wike says he is waiting for. Until then, the dispute is a war of words, and billboard prices in Abuja remain as announced.
