The elections are finally here and in less than a month it will be over. If there is anything we have learnt about this election it is the fact that the campaigns were long, gruesome, spiteful and above all expensive.
Nigerians have never had it this bad as they have been bombarded with adverts in the print media, social media, electronic media, posters, motor parks, religious houses and just about anywhere that can capture human attention. Most analysts believe the aftermath of the elections will be scathing for politicians and the economy as we are bound to face an empty treasury across states and the Federal Government.
Advertising spend for this year’s election is perhaps on track to be the heaviest ever we have witnessed. According to an article from the Vanguard, data from different advert agencies and reports from advert regulatory bodies puts advertising spend on political campaigns at an estimated cost to political parties, friends and well wishers of those seeking elective offices a princely N4.9 billion so far. Here is the breakdown
Newspapers – Print media have so far raked in about N1.382 billion of the advert spend, with the All Progressives Congress, APC spending N332.503 million on its presidential candidate, while its Peoples Democratic Party, PDP counterpart spent N1.049 billion, which is 65.5 per cent higher than the amount spent by APC.
Rallies – Field reports further put other expenses on campaign rallies for PDP and APC at N1.057 billion and N595.082 million respectively. Both parties also spent N224.36 million on outdoor campaigns.
Broadcast – The broadcast campaign coverage for the presidential candidates were put at N508.35 million and N391.05 million for PDP and APC.
Electronic media – adverts were N733.9million for PDP and N555.6 million for APC respectively, bringing the total amount to N2.5 billion.
In summary, a total of N4.973 billion has been spent on campaign expenses, with PDP and APC spending N3.549 billion and N1.424 billion respectively.