Advertisers urge Kaduna Govt to halt plan to destroy billboards

The Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN has appealed to the Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUPDA) to reconsider its plan to commence removal and destruction of billboards in some parts of the state metropolis.

General Secretary of the association, Mr. Sola Akinsiku, in a statement submitted that said such act, if allowed, would be counter-productive both to the State and to the owners of the billboard structures whose investments in the state would be affected.

Akinsiku noted that at a recent meeting with the leadership of KASUPDA, the association was informed that the planned exercise was in line with the urban renewal policy of the Kaduna State government, to replace all existing static billboards in the state metropolis with Light-Emitting Diode (LED) platforms.

“Our position at the meeting was that, while government was free to make policies as deemed necessary, it should consider the interest of stakeholders; the firms currently doing business in the affected areas and who have invested hundreds of millions of Naira on such billboard structures.

“We still believe that this is the acceptable, decent, and investment-friendly approach to be taken by KASUPDA and as agreed at the meeting, KASUPDA should initiate a stakeholders’ meeting that will include our members, to mutually agree on the way out,”

Such move according to Akinsiku is more expedient, considering that members of the association got approval from the same KASUPDA before they installed the structures that it now wants to remove.

“While we are not opposed to government’s efforts at environmental renewal, the billboards are not illegal structures. They were installed upon proper approval. It is also important to note that the structures cost a lot of money to fabricate and install,” he emphasized.

The Association therefore requested that the Kaduna state government put on hold the planned exercise, pending a mutual resolution of all the issues between KASUPDA and all relevant stakeholders including – members of OAAN, the Media Independent Practitioners Association (MIPAN) and the Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN).

“Kaduna State is reputed for being investment friendly; it was recently rated very highly as one of the states in Nigeria known for ease of doing business. Thus, this plan by KASUPDA, if allowed without the buy in of all the critical stakeholders, will call to question the sincerity and genuineness of such rating.

“KASUPDA should therefore, hold on, and allow for the proposed stakeholders’ engagement and buy in, which will bring about mutual understanding and agreement on the best ways forward.  Advertisers and their media buyers, for instance will need to rework their engagement in the affected locations; and billboard owners will have enough time to sort out a number of issues, including make good arrangements for running campaigns and how, more importantly, ensure the safety of their structures,” the association noted.