By Ngozi Ufomba and Nuhu Ambi
The Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage (DOAS) of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has embarked on a comprehensive First Party and Third Party Compliance Drive and Enforcement Exercise to clean up the city and sanitize outdoor advertising practice in the FCT.
The exercise targets First Party billboards – billboards not more than five meters from business premises owned by companies to advertise their own products, whose owners have also failed to pay their statutory bills; and Third Party billboards owned by outdoor advertisement practitioners that are wrongly placed on walkways, flower gardens, under electricity high tension lines and other unapproved locations.
DOAS is the statutory regulator of outdoor advertisements and signage in the nation’s capital.
Speaking during the compliance and enumeration exercise in Abuja, the Overseeing Director of DOAS, Dr. Azaki Sunday Kachiwoyi, said when he came on board as the new Overseeing Director, he realized that the city was clustered with billboards that were not properly placed and did not meet global standards.
To address the challenge, he convened a general meeting with all Outdoor Advertisement Practitioners in the FCT to discuss the way forward on how to decongest the city and ensure billboards are properly placed in line with regulation and standards.
According to him, during the meeting, both parties – DOAS and the Practitioners – agreed that practitioners should be given 21 days to do the right thing and regularize their structures.
He noted that at the meeting too, it was agreed that at the expiration of the 21 days, both parties agreed that enforcement should be carried out on any billboard owned by a practitioner who refused to comply.
On First Party compliance, Dr. Kachiwoyi said the Department had earlier issued bills to all First Party billboard owners, but many failed to make payment.
Consequently, he disclosed, DOAS is now placing ‘X’ signs on such billboards as a warning.
“Those billboards with ‘X’ signs are warning signs. We are giving them 14 days within which to come to DOAS and pay their outstanding bills,” he stated.
Dr. Kachiwoyi warned that failure to pay within 14 days will attract full enforcement action including removal, sealing or impounding.
On Third Party, he said enforcement has commenced against billboards erected on walkways, flower gardens, under electricity high tension cables and other unauthorized spots which deface the city and pose safety risks.
He emphasized that the main idea of the exercise is to ensure that the city is clean, safe and orderly.
The Overseeing Director thanked the Honourable Minister of the FCT, Barr. Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, for all his infrastructural development in the FCT, especially the road constructions which have opened new roads that enable DOAS to operate on and create more revenue for the Administration.
He called on all affected First Party owners with ‘X’ signs to come for reconciliation and payment, and urged Third Party practitioners to remove all wrongly placed structures voluntarily to avoid enforcement.
Dr. Kachiwoyi assured that DOAS remains committed to creating a clean, safe and business-friendly outdoor advertising environment in line with the vision of the FCT Administration.