The CEO of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), George Noah, on Thursday revealed that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was yet to apply to advertise on any of the streetlight poles, billboards etc in the state, despite its allegations of marginalisation.
There has been a controversy involving the agency, the PDP, the police and the APC led government, following allegations by the party that the APC controlled state was using LASAA to prevent it from placing political adverts.
The plot thickened when the Lagos State Police Commissioner, Kayode Aderanti announced that whoever was caught removing political posters would be arrested.
Asked if the PDP had filed any complaints, Mr Noah said: “I have not received a single complaint. Not even a telephone call to me or even an official letter”
Mr Noah, who was a guest on Sunrise Daily, Thursday morning noted that “as we speak, the PDP has not made a single application to use a single streetlight pole in Lagos state.”
“I am not aware of any application”, he added.
Responding to allegations that the agency favoured the APC, LASAA boss insisted that “there’s nothing to be partial about this. Whatever we do is open to public scrutiny.
“We’ve been removing posters irrespective of the political party,” he added.
He stressed that although the agency regulated the activities of outdoor advertising companies, it did not regulate the business activities or choices of these companies.
“Our job stops when we give approval for you to go and erect a billboard, the type of billboard that you erect, that’s all.”
According to him, LASAA had no business choosing which clients the advert agencies sell their space to.
He further noted that the agency had maintained a good relationship with the police prior to the election season
Mr Noah disclosed that it was out of place for any political party to insist on placing posters unlawfully and indiscriminately, for failure to secure spaces with the outdoor advertising agencies.
He also noted that LASAA had invited all political parties to a town hall meeting in November, where they were informed about the procedure to follow.
Asked what measures LASAA was taking to ensure all political parties had opportunities to spread their message, Mr Noah explained that outdoor advertising was expensive anywhere in the world and is meant for people who can afford it.
“If someone puts up an electronic billboard for instance, on average, it costs about N250 million”.