Lagos Denies Charging Peter Obi’s NDC N700m For Political Billboards

The Lagos State Government has denied charging political events N700m to erect marketing campaign billboards, describing the allegation by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi’s celebration, as false.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, stated the federal government doesn’t handle the billboards and that the buildings are owned by non-public out of doors promoting operators.

Omotoso, in a press release shared on Sunday, stated the costliest billboard in Lagos prices about N10m month-to-month, including that the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) solely regulates the trade.

His response adopted claims by Ibrahim Abdulkarim, Director-General of the NDC Presidential Campaign Council, that the price of acquiring licences for political billboards was limiting the celebration’s visibility forward of the 2027 basic elections.

Abdulkarim had made the allegation throughout an interview on Nigeria Info FM Lagos, claiming that political billboard licences price virtually N700,000 in Lagos and N750,000 in Abuja.

He stated the excessive price of securing permits throughout states had made it troublesome for the celebration to depend on standard out of doors promoting to advertise its political message.

“In Lagos, you have to pay almost N700,000m to get a license (to erect a political billboard). And here in Abuja, it is N750,000m to get a licence,” he stated.

However, Omotoso dismissed the allegation, describing it as faux information supposed to tarnish the picture of the state authorities.

“The government of Lagos State wishes to debunk the claim that it has raised billboard permit fee to N700m,” he stated.

“Billboards are owned by private operators. The most expensive billboard is about N10million monthly. The government does not run billboards.

“The Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) is only a regulator, not an operator.”

He defined that political marketing campaign commercials have to be displayed on authorised promoting buildings operated by registered out of doors promoting practitioners with legitimate LASAA permits.

According to him, the relevant regulatory charges for billboard house owners depend upon components akin to the dimensions, format and placement of promoting buildings, with prices various throughout designated zones.

The commissioner additionally clarified that the statutory allow charges payable to LASAA are separate from the industrial prices of media placement, manufacturing and different promoting companies supplied by registered out of doors promoting practitioners.

He stated anybody in search of to function as an outside promoting practitioner in Lagos should pay a non-refundable, one-off registration payment of N7m, register with the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and fulfil different authorized necessities.

Omotoso added that LASAA had lately launched into public sensitisation on election marketing campaign promoting tips to coach political events, candidates, promoting practitioners and the general public on relevant laws.

He assured political events that Lagos would stay a bastion of democracy and equal alternatives, whereas sustaining that every one out of doors marketing campaign supplies should adjust to established laws.

The commissioner additional stated LASAA would take away marketing campaign communication supplies after the elections for gratis to the general public to revive town’s visible enchantment.