RismadarVoice Reporters
September 27, 2026
Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, has warned political parties and their supporters against removing campaign posters bearing the image of President Bola Tinubu from locations where they have been authorised for display.
Umahi said political parties seeking to place their own campaign materials on designated federal infrastructure should follow the required approval process rather than remove materials belonging to other political actors.
Speaking during a media engagement, the minister addressed controversy surrounding the display of Tinubu’s images on the First Niger Bridge and other locations.
Umahi said the spaces being used for the President’s campaign materials were being obtained through the appropriate process, with payments made into the Federation Account.
“We are buying the space; we are paying the money to the Federation Account. Any other person who wants their poster to be there should go through the Ministry of Works,” Umahi said.
He said applicants would be allocated appropriate spaces after making the required payments.
The minister also warned against unauthorised installation of posters on infrastructure, citing the risk of damaging structural components while attempting to mount campaign materials.
“If we fix President Bola Tinubu’s posters and anybody removes them, I will assemble all the APC chairmen in the 36 states plus Abuja, and we will remove every other person’s campaign posters,” he said.
Umahi’s statement followed reactions over the display of Tinubu’s images on the First Niger Bridge, which links Onitsha in Anambra State with Asaba in Delta State.
Earlier in the week, the minister directed that unauthorised advertisements on the bridge be removed and said anyone seeking to advertise on the structure must obtain approval from the Federal Ministry of Works.
He also directed officials to beautify the bridge with images of Tinubu, saying the President deserved recognition for his administration’s intervention in the rehabilitation of the facility.
The bridge has been undergoing rehabilitation following the vandalism of critical structural components, including bolts and parts of its expansion-joint system.
Umahi’s latest comments suggest that other political parties would also be permitted to seek advertising spaces through the Ministry of Works, subject to the applicable approval and payment requirements.
His threat of retaliatory removal of opposition campaign materials, however, introduces a political dimension to the dispute as parties intensify preparations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The controversy also raises questions about the rules governing partisan campaign materials on federal public infrastructure and whether such spaces are equally available to competing candidates under the same conditions.
Umahi maintained that political groups wishing to use designated advertising spaces should seek approval and make the required payments rather than interfere with campaign materials already installed.
