A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee (NWC) has dismissed allegations by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) that the ruling party is denying opposition candidates access to campaign venues and billboard spaces across the country.
The APC official who spoke on condition of anonymity described the allegations made by the NDC National Publicity Secretary Osa Director during a live television broadcast on Monday as ‘pure gibberish’ arguing that they lacked specific details and verifiable evidence.
The ruling party chieftain said he found no state names local government areas or specific agencies in the allegations to substantiate claims that opposition parties were denied access to campaign venues or advertising spaces.
‘Someone sent the allegation to me on WhatsApp and I read it from head to toe’ the APC official said.
‘It just says NDC makes an allegation that we are denying them access to venues and billboards. Where? In Delta State? In Lagos? Or in Abuja? There is no information no context and no specific location. My brother it is hard to dignify this kind of nonsense.’
On whether the APC was ensuring a level playing field for political parties ahead of the forthcoming elections the official said billboard advertising operated on commercial terms with parties competing for available spaces.
He argued that the APC did not exercise physical control over all advertising locations across the country and maintained that the ruling party also had to pay to secure billboard spaces.
‘APC is a political party contesting election and we are not in physical control of all advertising territories across Nigeria’ he said.
‘The idea that APC is denying people space-what level? We are looking for billboards just as they are and we are paying for billboards just as they are. We are all in the same market trying to market our platforms.’
The NWC member also criticised what he described as the opposition’s tendency to make broad accusations without providing specific details saying such claims risked drawing political parties into unproductive exchanges.
The NDC’s allegations and the APC official’s response come amid preparations for the next general elections.
‘If you make an allegation it must be noted if you didn’t provide any specific case state location or names’ he added. ‘Otherwise we get stuck in an endless cycle where someone comes to say ‘they beat our people today’ and we reply ‘oh we didn’t beat your people today.’ That’s childish and joking.’
He challenged the NDC leadership to present concrete verifiable complaints with relevant state authorities or ministries before expecting an official response from the ruling party.
‘If they bring up a credible allegation our party will respond’ the official concluded. ‘If you say that in a specific state you tried to get a billboard in a particular place and a specific ministry denied you after writing to them then we can verify with that state and ministry to answer appropriately. But this blanket idea of ‘they are denying us space’ without any context-their statement is not a statement; it is just gibberish.’
The APC chieftain’s reaction followed an earlier appearance by NDC National Publicity Secretary Osa Director on ARISE TV on Monday where he accused the APC of trying to frustrate his party’s preparations for the 2027 general elections by blocking access to event spaces and outdoor billboard placements.
The director insisted during the interview that the NDC had repeatedly struggled to secure locations for its public events despite fulfilling payment obligations adding that the party was forced to hunt for alternative sites.
‘This is the fourth venue we are paying for. We kept this one under wraps until just a few hours ago when we issued the press release only for us to be called that the political marauders have come and said they are the owners of the land so we should take back our money’ the Director alleged.
He added that despite operational hurdles and alleged restrictions on billboard bookings the NDC would not be intimidated into keeping its message from Nigerian voters.
‘Nigeria belongs to us all. Nobody owns Nigeria. We fought; we used our life and sweat and blood to fight for this democracy we are enjoying today’ the NDC spokesman said. ‘So who is that person to tell me that I will not have a right to exercise my freedom of speech and freedom of assembly?’