(Court. Photo by Punch News)
The Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, has warned politicians against illegally pasting their campaign posters on flyovers and other public buildings, urging them to desist or face the full wrath of the law.
The governor’s warning came a few hours after Adamawa State Magistrate Court No. 2 fined the African Democratic Congress governorship candidate, Suleiman Umar, ₦3 million for placing his campaign posters on public buildings on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday night, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Humwashi Wonosikou, said the government’s position was neither new nor selective, noting that the law prohibiting the defacement of public property has always existed and applies equally to everyone, regardless of political party or social standing.
He said the government had, for some time, watched with concern the indiscriminate pasting of campaign posters and political materials on flyovers, bridges, public buildings, streetlights, road medians, and other public infrastructure, stressing that these facilities were built with public funds to improve the quality of life of the people and are not campaign boards for political organisations or individual aspirants.
He added that those who assumed the government would overlook such violations have now been met with the verdict of the law, pointing to the case in which a political candidate who violated the law was prosecuted, found liable by a competent court, and ordered to pay a fine of ₦3 million.
According to him, that judgment has settled the matter beyond public debate and demonstrated that the law is enforceable, with the government possessing both the legal authority and the resolve to protect public property.
According to Wonosikou, the government’s actions were not about politics but about responsibility, stressing that no responsible government can spend billions of naira beautifying cities, constructing modern flyovers, improving road corridors, and restoring public infrastructure, only to watch those same facilities turned into canvases for indiscriminate poster campaigns.
He said urban renewal is not measured solely by the construction of roads and bridges but is sustained by discipline, civic responsibility, and respect for public assets.
He said every poster illegally pasted on government infrastructure diminishes the collective investment of the people of Adamawa State, adding that the law would be enforced without fear or favour, with members of the ruling party and the opposition standing on equal footing before the law.
He stressed that no individual would receive preferential treatment because of political affiliation, influence, or office.
Wonosikou said political participation is a constitutional right, but vandalising public infrastructure is not, encouraging political actors to pursue lawful and responsible avenues for public engagement, noting that approved billboards, flex banners, designated advertising spaces, newspapers, radio, television, digital media, town hall meetings, and other legitimate platforms remain available for campaigns.
It was observed that when our correspondent went round Yola, the state capital, posters of candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress were prominently displayed on flyovers and other public buildings.