Ad Practitioners Worry over Destruction of Outdoor Platforms

Raheem Akingbolu

The Heads of Advertising Sectoral Group (HASG), a sectoral body made up of integrated marketing communications professionals and advertisers, have called on the government of Lagos State and Kaduna State respectively, to stop wanton destruction of Out-of-Home Advertising platforms in the two states.

In a joint press briefing in Lagos, the group which comprises Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), OAAN, Advertisers’ Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Experiential Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) and Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) called in response to the recent plan by the Lagos government to concession seven major roads in the state and the demolition of billboards in Kaduna State through its agency, Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority (KASUDA).

The group said the crises are capable of crippling the Outdoor advertising industry, which will result in increased unemployment and consequently lead to a decline in government revenue generation through taxes if the issues are not addressed on time.

OAAN President, Emmanuel Ajufo, said his association received seven days notice and when conversations were still ongoing, the agency started demolishing their billboards. The decision according to the state is due to its urban renewal policy to replace all existing static billboards in the state metropolis with Light-Emitting Diode (LED) platforms. 

He said that some of his members operating in the state are now battling debt and health-related issues emanating from the threats and losses.

“But, while discussions were still ongoing between OAAN and KASUPDA, the state rolled out the bulldozers and other instruments of destruction and pulled down billboards’ structures, prevented the owners from recovering them, and sold them off to those who trade in scraps.

“We have since found out that the whole essence is to allow some favoured business owners, close to the corridors of power in Kaduna State to install their LED platforms in those areas, and have the monopoly of practicing there. This is another form of franchising, and HASG frowns at it,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said the planned concessions of some major roads in Lagos to bidders would bring about monopoly and increase in the cost of engaging Out-of-Home media platforms by advertisers and therefore should be reconsidered.

In response to this, ADVAN President, Osamede Uwubanmwen, said if the cost of placing adverts on some of these billboards became so high, its members would move their advertising budgets to other media platforms to reach their target audience and it might further affect the OOH industry.

AAAN President, Steve Babaeko, said Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute to economic growth, urging Lagos and Kaduna governments to suspend the move, stating that  billions of Naira must have been lost by OOH practitioners in Kaduna even as OAAN President said the value of what has been lost will soon be reported.

MIPAN President, Tunji Adeyinka, on his part said OOH employs a lot of people and the concession would further increase the unemployment rate while Eki Adzufeh, Executive Secretary, MIPAN said the government needs to revisit the decision and engage industry stakeholders.