Oyo State government has issued a two-week ultimatum to advertising practitioners, owners of billboards, banners and posters erected or pasted across the state to pay-up their outstanding dues or face sanctions.
This was revealed through the Director General, Oyo State Signage and Advertisement Agency (OYSAA), Pastor Yinka Adepoju in a press release issued to journalists in Ibadan.
He noted that, as the year runs out, the Agency has noticed some indiscriminate pasting of posters and bill boards of different kinds announcing religious events or special offer of gifts and bonanza across the streets of the State.
The Director General while cautioning against the habit of debasing the environment with illegal posters, urged all Stakeholders indebted to the State government to settle their outstanding dues within the next two-weeks or face the wrath of the Law.
He said “As we are approaching the Christmas and new year season, all those who are owing the state government should effect payment without further delay. Going by our records, we found out that some of the stakeholders are owing heavy sums of money”.
This Adepoju said, is unacceptable, claiming that the Agency has rolled out another warning letters to those affected giving them an ultimatum of two weeks, precisely Friday, December 8, 2017, after which defaulters’ billboards and banners shall be removed from their respective locations.
He also emphasized that beginning from next year, 2018, all branded vehicles bearing mobile advertisement must obtain mobile advert Stickers from the State government and if they refuse, the Agency is ready to clamp down on them.
“Come 2018, it is expected that all branded vehicles must buy the mobile advertisement stickers. For Lorries, it is five thousand naira only (N5000) for the whole year while for buses and cars, it is just three thousand naira (N3000), We expect them to pick up the stickers and comply with the government regulations so that such owners will not face the wrath of the law’’.
He further stated that apart from paying fines and sanctions, organizations, institutions or bodies found culpable of indiscriminate erection of bill boards across the State will be prosecuted by the State’s Mobile Court.
“We will also prosecute some of these offenders, especially those who are so unlucky for us to have their names and details. We have the Mobile Court put together by the Ministry of Environment and Habitat and we are going to make them appear before the Mobile Court’’, the OYSAA boss emphasized.
“I am assuring you that by the time they are sub-charged and sanctioned, they will desist from such illegal acts’’, he added.
The Director General then appealed to individuals, schools, religious bodies, filling stations and corporate organizations who have signage structures in any part of the State and have not been paying for such to henceforth fulfill their obligations to the government.
Packaged by Ojo Peter
