As campaigns intensify ahead of the 2015 elections, the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency has reminded political parties across the state that pasting posters along expressways and major roads is illegal.
The agency said posters could only be used on inner streets and warned political parties against pasting posters on public utility structures such as street lamp poles, transformers, road directional signs, electric poles and other unauthorised surfaces.
The Managing Director of the agency, Mr. George Noah, said this on Friday during a town hall meeting with registered political parties on the use of outdoor political campaign materials in the state in preparation for the 2015 elections.
He said, “Posters should only be deployed on designated surfaces on inner streets and are not to be deployed on highways, major roads and high streets.”
He told political parties to inform their members that any of them that assaulted a LASAA official in the course of duty would be prosecuted.
The political parties, however, accused LASAA of turning a blind eye to illegal adverts of the All Progressives Congress but pulling down those of other parties.
A representative of the National Conscience Party, Mr. Fatai Idowu, said he had fallen victim to biased LASAA officials in the past.
He said, “LASAA says it is removing illegal adverts but if you to go the Alausa Secretariat, it is only APC posters that you will find all over the place. I remember that in 2011, when I was campaigning, I put up a poster in my area but about three hours later, my poster had been removed while that of the APC was still intact.
“LASAA is working for the APC, they only remove opposition posters and this is unfair, LASAA must be fair.”
However, the LASAA boss denied that the agency was partisan, maintaining that it was non-political.
He said the agency had never denied any political party the permission to advertise and urged the politicians to ensure that they used structures owned and operated by advertising practitioners to advertise.
He said, “We are the only ones holding this kind of meeting in the entire country. If we had something to hide, we would not have called for a town hall meeting. We do not support any political party and I am sure none of you has applied for approval to advertise and has been denied before.”
source: nigerianeye
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