INEC Responsible For Regulating Campaign Advertisement, Says TAS Director, Amadi

Dr. Sam Amadi, Executive Director of The Abuja School of Political and Social Thought (TAS), has emphasized that it is the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) obligation to regulate political campaign advertisements within the country.

Dr. Amadi asserted that all elections, with the exception of council polls, are federal undertakings that the INEC is authorized to oversee.

He made these remarks during a one-day training program titled “Ensuring Electoral Integrity and Citizen Participation Through Capacity Building,” which took place in Owerri, Imo State, on Wednesday.

Amadi noted that while states possess signage agencies, it is the INEC’s responsibility to ensure that political campaign advertisements are charged at uniform commercial rates.

He criticized the current situation where states inflate rates to hinder opposition figures from utilizing billboard placements for campaign advertisements.

Furthermore, Dr. Amadi advocated for the restructuring of the INEC to limit its functions to conducting national elections, allowing other agencies to handle additional responsibilities currently managed by the electoral commission.

He also proposed the establishment of an electoral offenses commission to prosecute electoral violators.

Dr. Amadi asserted that ensuring electoral integrity in the country would serve as a catalyst for promoting good governance.

He stated that even if an unqualified candidate were to win an election, they would govern with caution, knowing that the electorate could remove them in the subsequent election cycle.

The TAS Executive Director emphasized that for free, fair, and credible elections to occur, all principal stakeholders—including the INEC, party agents, security personnel, and civil society organizations—must fulfill their roles effectively.

He advised political parties to appoint agents at polling units, indicating that parties unable to hire agents in all polling locations should not complain about ballot manipulation.

According to him, agents are legally empowered to ensure that ballots are not tampered with against their party candidates.

He highlighted that agents are responsible for providing detailed accounts of the election process and for reporting any irregularities to the appropriate authorities.

Participants committed to training additional members of their communities on strategies to achieve electoral integrity in the forthcoming 2027 general elections.

They resolved to utilize the knowledge gained during the training to ensure that the 2027 elections are conducted in a free, fair, and credible manner.

The participants included journalists, members of civil society organizations, and political support groups.

TAS in collaboration with its partners had mounted similar training programmes in Plateau, Enugu and Niger states of the country.