With three months before the 2027 general elections, political parties and their candidates are yet to properly hit the streets for campaigning, despite the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, starting the campaign window about two months ago.
The Commission has set the Presidential and National Assembly elections for January 16, 2027 while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls would be three weeks later on February 6, 2027.
The Saturday Vanguard says that the INEC has given the green light for the campaigns for the presidential and National Assembly elections, August 19, and governorship and state assembly, September 9. TrackExec Orders
No meaningful campaigns have been started since then. A few of the big parties have set up their Presidential Campaign Councils, PCCs, most are yet to do so. Track Exec Orders
As the Presidential and NASS votes are 97 days away and the governorship and state assembly balloting 118 days away, no party or candidate has announced his/her or its campaign plan and itinerary as it is.
In an unmistakable poster war, the current political climate is comparatively muted to prior election cycles when, at this point, streets would be inundated with posters and billboards with candidates criss-crossing their constituencies.
But now, the situation is different as our reporters around the country illustrate. Campaign committees have been formed by only a few of significant parties, while many candidates are focusing on consultations, grassroots mobilisation, party structures and legal challenges.
But where campaigns have begun, another conflict is forming – the fight over billboards and other public advertising sites, with claims of removal, destruction, intimidation and political use of regulatory authority.
Ondo: APC crisis halts poster war
There is still limited political activity in Ondo State, with few APC candidates plastering posters at critical sites.
In previous election seasons, there was a poster war, but this time, candidates of opposition parties are mostly not on the streets.
It was found during the investigations that some few opposition candidates have pasted posters while many have not printed theirs.
The development was mostly tied to the crisis rocking the APC, with some hopefuls who lost the party’s primaries going to court to protest the outcome.
Even among National Assembly members with return tickets, only a handful have made and posted campaign posters.
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The uncertainty over candidatures has so slowed down political operations. Follow Politics
The APC National Working Committee dismissed certain contestants following the primaries, causing fresh turmoil and litigation that have conspired to prevent the customary billboard and poster war.
Meanwhile, billboards of APC presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu are prevalent across major cities and roads while barely few posters of ADC presidential contender, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku are visible.
Another thing is that there will be no governorship election in Ondo in 2027. “The state will go to the polls to elect the president, National Assembly and State Assembly.
FollowPolitics: Ekiti Tinubu dominates
The same scenario is playing out in Ekiti where the campaign terrain is still far from the fierce poster and billboard rivalry usually connected with elections.
Tinubu’s posters and billboards are everywhere in many places, while the opposition parties, especially ADC and NDC, are barely visible.
A key political development is the decision of Dr Wole Oluyede, who contested the June 20, 2026 governorship election on the ticket of the PDP to endorse the re-election of Tinubu.
Oluyede has also launched the Oluyede Progressive Alliance for Renewed Hope Agenda, OPARHA, to drum up support for Tinubu throughout the 16 local government areas and the 177 wards of the state. FollowPolitics
Oluyede and Governor Biodun Oyebanji made the pledges at a mobilisation event held in Ado-Ekiti to canvass support for Tinubu. They promised to work for at least 90 per cent of President’s votes in Ekiti State.
“For now, the physical campaign terrain is heavily tilting in favour of Tinubu and APC.
Osun: No ripping posters
Osun tells a different tale. In competition, posters and banners for the campaign are being put up without the extensive defacing seen during the August governorship race.
Various parties have posted campaign literature at public places and no reports of massive destruction have been received.
This is a departure from the last governorship race where the destruction of posters and billboards belonging to major political parties was on a large scale. Follow Politics
Billboard war, Lagos opposition shouts foul
Lagos is on political activities, amid heightened tension, early mobilisation and rigorous supervision of public advertising space.
The governorship race featuring APC, ADC and PDP is generating more interest than the Senate, House of Representatives and State Assembly races that are comparatively muted.
APC governorship candidate, Dr Obafemi Hamzat and his running mate, Princess Damilola Sonayon-James have put up a strong presence in President Tinubu. TrackExec commands
Billboards displaying the pictures of Tinubu, Vise President Kashim Shettima and Hamzat are visible in Ikeja, Alausa, Lagos-Ibadan Motorway, Obalende and along the Third Mainland Bridge. Posters have also been seen around Agege, Alimosho and other regions, beginning to appear in August.
At the same time, billboards of ADC presidential candidate and his running mate, Rotimi Amaechi and NDC presidential candidate, Peter Obi and his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, are yet to reach similar prominence.
Opposition parties have claimed their campaign material has been harassed and removed.
NDC members alleged that the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, LASAA, removed more than 50 banners of Peter Obi and House of Representatives candidate, Dr Adefolaseye Adebomi in Surulere while APC banners were untouched.
NDC chieftain, Aisha Yesufu, criticised the purported crime, characterising it as the behaviour of a party that is “scared, desperate and crumbling rather than one in control”.
She also attacked the excessive expense of billboard advertising, stating that in some places, hundreds of millions of naira are being charged.
The Lagos State government had not responded to the accusation as at the time of reporting this story.
Campaign materials of Ogun under attack
Political activities are picking up in Ogun as the PDP formally launches its governorship campaign, just as the incumbent APC intensifies its mobilisation throughout the three senatorial districts.
But more and more posters, banners and billboards erected in public places are being vandalised.
Various parties and candidates have had campaign material ripped down, disfigured or damaged, it is understood.
The situation has sparked worries as the parties are increasing grassroots participation and public messaging in the lead up to the elections.
Even as the campaign season has yet to reach its climax, the rising visibility of campaign materials on key roadways and in towns has already made areas of the state into political battlegrounds. Follow Politics
Billboards in Oyo: The Battle for Visibility
The battle for political visibility in Oyo State is progressively shifting to the streets, notably billboards and posters.
While the state hasn’t yet seen a full-blown poster war, campaign materials of leading candidates have started to be displayed in crucial spots in Ibadan and other parts of the state.
The ADC generated controversy in July when it claimed that a billboard of its governorship candidate, Olooye Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke, at Idi-Ape Junction, Ibadan, was taken down and replaced with materials featuring the images of Governor Seyi Makinde and APM governorship candidate, Bimbo Adekanmbi.
“My money is still running on that billboard till 20th August 2026, said Adegoke.
APM rejected the blame, saying billboard issues were the responsibility of advertising agencies and regulatory bodies.
Later, the APC also alleged that some of the billboards for its governorship candidate, Senator Sharafadeen Alli were being removed or damaged.
APM again denied involvement, saying: “We do not destroy opponents’ materials, we do not sponsor thuggery and we do not engage in violence.
Oyo’s fight for the moment is still in the early phase of the battle for public attention with candidates also depending on radio, television, social media, rallies and consultations.
Candidates make claim to Delta
There is currently no full blown campaign activities in Delta, but the political atmosphere is heating up as hopefuls deepen consultation with party officials, traditional rulers, community leaders and supporters. PoliticsFollow
Posters and billboards of candidates are now very much apparent in Asaba and other large towns but the situation has not degenerated into a full-blown poster war.
Political actors are walking a fine line, trying to enhance visibility while at the same time strengthen party infrastructure and grassroots networks.
For many candidates consultancies and mobilisation is more vital than throwing massive sums at full-scale advertising.
But the signs and billboards that are gradually appearing suggest that the 2027 contest is entering the public imagination.
Edo: Billboard destruction complaints curbed
Political activities are heating up in Edo’s three senatorial districts as crossroads and other public places jostle for campaign posters and banners.
The APC has kicked off its campaign council as Governor Monday Okpebholo, his deputy Dennis Idahosa and party leaders began mobilisation trips across the 18 local government areas in the state.
The NDC is also campaigning but has complained about attacks on its posters.
The NDC has the potential to topple the incumbent with its grassroots strength, the party’s candidate for Akoko-Edo II State Constituency, Paul Alaba Lawani, said.
Other active campaign groups include the Chief Thomas Attah Movement, supporting Dr Thomas Attah’s desire for the House of Representatives in Akoko-Edo Federal Constituency and the Abbaas Naasamu campaign team of the ADC.
But the campaign has already witnessed one case of alleged political violence. Follow Politics
Suspected political thugs on Monday stormed the campaign headquarters of the NDC candidate for Oredo Federal Constituency, Hon Frank Uyi Omosigho in Benin City.
Some campaign materials at the office on Stadium Road were torn down and destroyed.
Omosigho claimed youngsters had called him about the attack, urging young people not to allow politicians to manipulate them to conduct violence.
“I appeal to youths not to be used by politicians to perpetrate violence or other illegal acts. “Anyone caught breaking the law will pay the price,” he stated. “The campaign materials were supposed to introduce the candidates and the political parties to the electorate,” he said. The people might make their selections independently.”The event was reported to the police as well as the Commissioner of Police and Department of State Services, DSS. Political Science
Another NDC candidate, St Moses Eromosele, has also said that his billboards were being torn down and accused the APC.
As the elections approach, the calm campaign environment in the eight states could soon be replaced by the traditional frenzy of rallies, posters, billboards and political mobilisation.
But for now, the war is being conducted primarily behind the scenes — in party meetings, in courtrooms, in consultations and in the increasingly contentious public arenas where candidates try to make their first impressions on voters.
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