OAAN loses N500 million to billboards demolition
By Dele Alao
Business Reporter, Lagos
Not less than N500 million worth of billboards of
different sizes and shapes were said to have been lost to the demolition
exercise, ordered by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, early
this year.
Vice-President of the Outdoor Advertising Association
of Nigeria (OAAN), the billboards regulatory body in the country, Mr. Kole
Ademulegun, disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos, while speaking on the travails
of the body.
Besides,
the group has cried out to the minister to invite it for a meeting where
all issues, relating to the new billboard concept, installation and maintenance
in Abuja will be discussed and agreed upon.
Ademulegun decried a recent media report credited to
the Minister’s Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Kingsley Akgha, that plans are
already under-way to consider the proposals on billboards submitted to the
minister by a group of people, who, according to Ademulegun, are not OOAN
members.
“Nothing can be so demoralising and
intimidating. I tell you, it is extremely demoralising for us as practitioners
to read such a report on the pages of newspaper without any prior consultation
with us in spite of several efforts made to dialogue and, of course, make some
input into the new billboard arrangement being proposed by the FCT minister. It
is sad, very sad”, Ademulegun lamented.
He said the group had made several efforts to
dissuade the minister from the demolition of billboards in the Abuja metropolis
after issuing only a seven-day ultimatum.
“OOAN, as an association, made spirited effort
to stop the minister from carrying out this threat. Such a provocative action
would adversely affect the economy of this country, employers and employees of
outdoor companies, who are likely to be rendered jobless if such huge investments
are destroyed.
“We equally wrote a letter, appealing and
suggesting a stakeholders’ meeting, where his plans will be made known
and we on our part, as major stakeholders and professionals in the sector,
offer valuable and professional advice that will benefit the government and
Nigerians in general”, he recalled.
Although the OOAN chief said he learnt that the
minister is now favourably disposed to the association, nevertheless, the group
has urged the el-Rufai to stop
receiving and processing applications from non-members.
Besides, it appealed to him to make public the said
guidelines for re-erection of billboards in Abuja, suspend franchising in
Abuja, which the body said it
believes is against fair business practice, and invite it for dialogue on the
vexed issues or organise a stakeholders meeting.
OOAN is a recognised sectorial association under the
Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), established by Act 55 of
1988, as amended by Act 93 of 1992.
