A fresh political storm has erupted in Benue State following a sharp disagreement between the state government and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over a planned statewide exercise to remove unauthorized outdoor billboards.
While the state administration maintains the operation is aimed at enforcing regulatory compliance and urban order, the opposition alleges that the initiative is a politically motivated ploy designed to clamp down on its campaign materials ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
​The tension escalated on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, during a press briefing in Makurdi, where the Benue State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Chief Solomon Iorpev, announced a two-week grace period for owners of unapproved structures to regularize their documentation.
​Addressing journalists at the Ministry of Information headquarters, Iorpev revealed that joint observations by the Benue State Signage and Advertisement Agency (BENSESA), the Benue State Internal Revenue Service (BIRS), and the Urban Development Board uncovered widespread illegal structures across the state.
​”These structures have been put up without a permit from the Signage and Advertisement Agency, without clearance from the Urban Development Board, and without payment of the prescribed fees. This practice breaches the law, deprives the state of legitimate revenue, endangers public safety, and undermines the orderly development of our towns and cities,” Iorpev stated.
​He warned that effective Tuesday, October 20, 2026, enforcement teams would begin taking down all unregularized structures across the state without further notice, adding that affected owners would bear the full financial cost of removal.
​In a swift counter-response issued later the same day from the party’s state secretariat in Makurdi, the Benue State PDP pushed back strongly against the directive. Speaking through the State Publicity Secretary, Bright Antyo, the opposition described the planned removal exercise as a deliberate strategy to suppress opposition voices.
​”This directive is a desperate, anti-democratic, and politically motivated attempt to cripple opposition campaigns ahead of the 2027 governorship election,” Antyo declared. “Any selective removal of opposition campaign materials under the guise of urban enforcement will be interpreted as a direct attack on democratic freedoms and a dangerous abuse of state institutions for partisan purposes.”
​Antyo urged Governor Hyacinth Alia’s administration to abandon the planned enforcement, warning against the monopolization of public spaces. The opposition spokesperson also called on civil society organisations, election observers, security agencies, and the media to closely monitor the state government’s actions to prevent political persecution under the guise of urban planning.
​In response to allegations of selective targeting, Chief Iorpev dismissed the claims, clarifying that the enforcement exercise applies universally across all commercial, private, and political structures.
He emphasized that the administration extended the two-week window out of goodwill to allow all affected parties, regardless of political affiliation, to comply with state regulatory laws before full enforcement commences on October 20.
