The Cross River State Signage and Advertisement Agency (CRISSAA) has fixed N150 million as the tariff for outdoor campaign advertisements by presidential candidates ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Under the new tariff, governorship candidates will pay N100 million, while senatorial candidates, House of Representatives candidates and State House of Assembly candidates are expected to pay N50 million, N25 million and N5 million, respectively.

SEE MORE: JUST IN: Former Cross River Gov Donald Duke Defects To ADC

The Director-General of CRISSAA, Ubong Sam, disclosed the rates during an interactive session with the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Calabar.

Sam said the tariffs were moderate compared with what obtains in neighbouring states, adding that CRISSAA had introduced measures to regulate advertising spaces and ensure fairness among political parties and candidates.

“We have tried to regulate advert space, by not allowing anybody to insult the integrity of anybody or party, by being fair in all ramifications, by giving advertisers opportunity to either dialogue or arbitration and not necessarily by litigation,” he said.

The CRISSAA boss also directed political parties to remove their campaign billboards and other advertising materials within 30 days after the announcement of election results.

According to him, campaign materials left beyond the 30-day period would be considered a nuisance.

“Immediately after each election, at the expiration when results are announced, political parties are given 30 days to take off their campaign materials. Once it’s beyond 30 days, the advert materials become a nuisance,” Sam said.

He warned that defaulters could have their campaign materials removed, pay fines or face prosecution before the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

While IPAC state chairman, Effiom Edet, backed the tariffs and described them as fair, some political parties rejected the charges.

The state chairman of the Action Democratic Party and the Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described the tariffs as outrageous and exorbitant, arguing that they could prevent less financially buoyant parties from using billboards to publicise their campaigns.

PDP spokesman, Mike Ojisi, said he was not part of any IPAC meeting where the tariffs were agreed.

“The tariff is outrageous, exorbitant and a ploy to prevent other political parties from carrying out massive publicity through billboards. The tariff is totally unacceptable,” he said.

The new charges are expected to fuel further debate among political parties and stakeholders as preparations intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Pelumi Olajengbesi, spokesman for Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election campaign, has threatened to institute a ₦10 billion defamation suit against Senator Francis Fadahunsi over alleged defamatory statements.

Olajengbesi, through his lawyer, Hammed Lasisi, Esq., issued the threat in a letter dated August 12, 2026, demanding that the senator retract the statements and issue an unequivocal public apology within 24 hours.

The lawyer said the statements were made by Fadahunsi during television interviews on Viable TV on July 2 and Channels Television’s Politics Today on August 11.

SEE MORE: Osun 2026: Rising Violence Sparks Fear of Voter Apathy Ahead of Gov Poll

According to the letter, Fadahunsi allegedly questioned Olajengbesi’s identity and origin, stating that he was “not even from the same Ijebu-Jesha” and was “from somewhere in Ogun State.”

The senator also allegedly accused the campaign spokesman of “using thugs, Eiye and Aye.”

Olajengbesi’s lawyer argued that the remarks suggested that his client sponsored, associated with or deployed thugs and members of the Eiye and Aye cult groups for political activities.

The letter further cited Fadahunsi’s appearance on Politics Today, where he allegedly said of the late Ajayi Aderogba, popularly known as Rogba: “Rogba is an Eiye man sponsored by Barr. Olajengbesi terrorising the whole … my own territory up and down through all these Eiye and Aye.”

Olajengbesi denied the allegations, describing them as false, defamatory and injurious to his personal, professional and political reputation.

He maintained that he had never sponsored, financed, supported or patronised any cult group or its members for criminal, political or unlawful activities.

He also denied authorising anyone to terrorise, intimidate or attack members of the public on his behalf.

According to his lawyer, the allegation of sponsoring cultists and persons involved in acts of terror amounted to an accusation of criminal conduct and was particularly damaging to Olajengbesi as a legal practitioner and public figure.

The campaign spokesman has therefore demanded that Fadahunsi retract the alleged defamatory statements through the same media and social media platforms where they were published or disseminated.

He also demanded an “unequivocal and unreserved public apology” through appropriate national and social media platforms.

The lawyer warned that failure to comply within 24 hours would prompt Olajengbesi to approach the court to seek ₦10 billion in general and aggravated damages for defamation and injurious falsehood.

The dispute comes amid heightened political activities ahead of the 2026 Osun governorship election.

At least 44 people have died after an overcrowded ferry capsized on Zimbabwe’s Lake Kariba, with authorities continuing the search for possible survivors and missing passengers.

The ferry, operated by the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, overturned on Tuesday while carrying 114 adult passengers, five crew members and an unspecified number of children.

According to Zimbabwe’s Civil Protection Unit, the vessel had a capacity of 90 people, indicating that it was carrying more passengers than its stated limit.

SEE ALSO: Tragedy In Jigawa As Boat Capsizes, Claims Nine Lives

Authorities initially reported that 77 people had been rescued and 15 bodies recovered. However, the Zimbabwe Republic Police later announced on Wednesday that the death toll had risen to 44.

“The ZRP informs the public that the death toll in the Kariba RIDA boat accident is now 44,” the police said in a statement posted on X.

A witness, Maxton Kanhema, told AFP that the ferry had departed in bad weather and may have been hit by a strong wave, causing its engines to switch off.

He said rescuers responded after a distress signal was seen and that bodies could be seen in the water.

“People were in distress… There were bodies in the water, and it was a sad situation to witness. Those that could be rescued were rescued,” Kanhema said.

A national park provided a helicopter to support the rescue operation, while larger boats, local divers and soldiers also joined the search.

The Civil Protection Unit said a specialised aquatic rescue team had been airlifted to the area. The 77 rescued passengers were taken to Long Island, located in the middle of the lake.

Two funeral parlours were also engaged to collect the recovered bodies as the search continued for anyone still unaccounted for.

The ferry serves communities between the northern town of Kariba and several islands and fishing villages around Lake Kariba.

Lake Kariba, which lies along the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is more than 300 kilometres northeast of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. It is the world’s largest man-made lake by volume.

The incident is one of the worst recorded passenger boat disasters on Lake Kariba.