2023 Elections: LASAA Releases Guidelines for Political Campaigns

Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency (LASAA) has issued guidelines on using election campaign materials in Lagos ahead of the 2023 general elections to control and regulate advert displays, as provided under its enabling law.

Speaking on the guidelines, LASAA’s Managing Director, Mr. Adedamola Docemo, urged politicians and their supporters to comply with the guidelines.

“The guidelines are issued without prejudice to any political party, association or aspirant as it is the agency’s intention to ensure fairness and equality among all concerned stakeholders while judiciously performing its duties and applying the rules without sentiment or bias,” said Docemo.

Based on the guidelines, political campaigns on billboards and wall drapes may only be deployed on existing structures owned and operated by outdoor advertising practitioners registered with LASAA and have obtained permits for such sites and structures.

“A-frame may only be placed on road verges, medians on inner streets and must not exceed a size of 2×1 metre (big size) and 0.5 x 0.5 meters (small size), and it must have a distance of not less than 100 metres between each sign deployed, which must be made of standard and sturdy materials to ensure that they do not drop or block the roads,” it added.

According to the guidelines, politicians and political parties should display banners on inner roads and streets. They must be attached to the wall of buildings with owners’ consent – limited to inner streets and not tied to poles or public utilities, including electric and telecom poles.

It said posters might be pasted on designated surfaces on inner streets only, excluding public utility structures such as streetlamp poles, transformers, bridge pillars/barriers, directional road signs, electrical poles and other unauthorised surfaces.

LASAA advised political parties and aspirants to refrain from displaying campaign posters indiscriminately, stating that unauthorised billboards or wall drapes and non-conforming political campaigns on banners, A-frames and posters, etc., will be removed.

It also urged political parties and aspirants to remove all election materials immediately after the 2023 general elections, adding that parties interested in deploying political campaigns are advised to contact LASAA or the owners of the proposed structures, including billboards and wall drapes, for clarification.