Enugu woke up to a blunt warning yesterday: no more posters on walls, no more faces staring down from electric poles.
As the drumbeats for the September 26 local government polls — and the 2027 general elections — grow louder, the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency has drawn a red line in the dust.
ENSSAA says the streets will not become a battlefield of paper.
A state under siege by paper
According to ENSSAA General Manager Francis Aninwike, the indiscriminate pasting of campaign materials has turned public spaces into a mess. Buildings, fences, bridges, road furniture and even private walls have been plastered with names, photographs, logos and slogans until the city looks tired.
Aninwike, in a public notice issued Wednesday, said the practice defaces property and degrades the environment every election season. “Enough,” the agency declared. Under the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency Law No. 12 of 2016, the ban on displaying and pasting election posters remains fully in force across all 17 local government areas.
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The new rules and the N50m hammer
The warning is sweeping. No political party, candidate, aspirant, campaign group or supporter may paste or display posters on any public or private surface without approval. Printers are also on notice: produce materials for unauthorised display and you could be investigated and sanctioned.
The penalty is steep. Violators face financial fines of up to N50 million, plus other sanctions prescribed by law. ENSSAA vowed enforcement will be “without fear or favour,” regardless of party or status.
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Instead, the agency urged politicians to take their message to radio, television, newspapers, digital platforms, social media and approved billboards.
As campaigns heat up, Enugu is betting that ideas, not glue and tape, will win votes.
