The Director, FCT Department of Outdoor Advertising and Signage (DOAS), Alhaji Ibrahim (Yakasai) Yusuf, has warned the general public against the placement of billboards, posters or any signage items in Abuja.
He said perpetrators of such illegal actions would be sanctioned.
“The need to enhance rules, and beautification of the city based on international best practice entails the introduction of new electronic billboards and light emitting diodes (LED) on lamp-posts in Abuja as is being done in major cities.
“Abuja is a planned city and we have to come up with what is happening globally in the advertising industry which is dynamic and changing every day. That is why we don’t want the proliferation of billboards all over the place,” he said.
Reacting, the Zonal Head the of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) in Abuja, Alhaji Ahmed Yelwa, said the law was very clear on all advertisements like vacancies, obituaries, special placements and statements which must be approved by APCON.
He said APCON always ensured that all adverts were legal, decent, honest, principled and socially responsible no matter the nature.
“And there is a penalty of not less than N500,000 to the agency that produced the advert, the medium that carried the advert and to the advertiser.
“Complying with the provision of the Federal Government law is very important. It is to protect Nigeria from unwholesome activities and ensure peaceful coexistence.
“Even political adverts are to be vetted and they must comply with the provision for advertising practice,” he added.
