Lagos campaign banner removal sparks allegations of political bias as NDC candidate Adefolaseye Adebayo challenges LASAA’s actions in Surulere
Dr Adefolaseye Adebayo, the Nigeria Democratic Congress candidate for Surulere Federal Constituency I in Lagos State, on Friday, September 4, 2026, accused the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency of selectively removing her campaign banners while allegedly leaving All Progressives Congress materials in place.
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Adebayo, an ENT and head and neck surgeon, made the allegation during an interview with Channels Television as political activity gathers momentum ahead of the 2027 general election.
According to Adebayo, supporters alerted her after LASAA officials were allegedly seen removing her campaign materials from different parts of Surulere.
“On my way from work, someone called me that my banners were being taken away from different locations all over Surulere, and it was specifically my banners alone,” she said.
Adebayo said she later went to the area and confronted the officials, who identified themselves as LASAA personnel.
“I left work, I met up with these people and they said they were from LASAA,” she added.
She said the officials explained that the streetlight poles carrying the banners belonged to the Lagos State Government and had been allocated to approved outdoor advertising practitioners.
Adebayo, however, questioned the explanation after observing that some APC campaign materials remained at locations where her banners had allegedly been removed.
“I noticed that at one particular spot, my banner with the state assembly candidates… was there, but mine wasn’t picked,” she said.
The NDC candidate subsequently described the incident as what she considered a form of political victimisation.
“That was when I knew there was sort of witch hunting… everywhere my banner was, those ones in the streets… taken away,” Adebayo said.
The allegation comes against the backdrop of a long-running debate in Lagos over the regulation of political posters, banners and outdoor advertising.
LASAA has previously maintained that political campaign materials must comply with the state’s outdoor advertising rules.
In 2022, the agency said political posters should be displayed at designated sites after campaigns were formally authorised, and that enforcement would apply without prejudice to political parties or candidates.
The agency has also previously defended the removal of opposition campaign materials by pointing to a lack of required authorisation.
In a 2018 dispute involving then Lagos PDP governorship candidate Jimi Agbaje, LASAA said his campaign materials had been removed because permission had not been obtained before they were installed.
The latest dispute therefore raises two competing issues: the enforcement of advertising regulations and the perception of equal treatment for political actors.
Adebayo said she would not take LASAA to court over the matter, choosing instead to replace the banners that were removed.
“I won’t sue them… I will just thank them for giving me this publicity because if they didn’t pick it, I’m sure nobody would,” she said.
In a separate part of the interview, Adebayo spoke about her decision to combine her medical career with political participation.
The surgeon said professionals should become directly involved in politics rather than remain outside the system while criticising the way government operates.
“I’m an active surgeon. I intend to break the jinx that you can’t do the two together,” she said.
“If you don’t come into the game of politics, you can’t keep complaining.”
Adebayo also outlined an agenda focused on women’s participation in politics and economic empowerment if elected to the House of Representatives.
Rather than relying primarily on cash distributions, she said she wanted women to have the skills and opportunities to become economically independent.
“Empowering doesn’t mean giving women handouts, fifty thousand,” she said.
The candidate added that women had an important role to play in leadership and public life.
“Women are capable, and women are the best leaders. When women get into something, they put their whole hearts into it.”
The banner dispute comes as political parties and candidates prepare for a more intense phase of mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
For Adebayo, the controversy has become an unexpected form of visibility.
For the authorities responsible for regulating outdoor advertising, however, the broader question remains whether campaign materials are being installed and removed according to rules that apply consistently to all political parties.
Adebayo’s claims about selective enforcement have not been independently established, and no response from LASAA directly addressing her latest allegations was available in the reports reviewed for this story.
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The dispute nevertheless highlights the delicate balance between enforcing public advertising regulations and ensuring that political candidates have a fair opportunity to reach voters during an increasingly competitive election cycle.
