Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has allegedly warned billboard owners in the state not to accept any campaign billboards from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
A member of the billboards association in the state, Mr. Ibrahim Momoh, made the allegation yesterday in Benin City, and added that the governor even threatened that anybody who violated such order would lose his/her board.
When contacted, the State Director, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mr. Abdul Hakeem Tiamiyu, said that he had the same complaints from billboard owner on the matter.
Comfirming the development on phone, Assistant Secretary, Billboard Owners Association, Edo State Chapter, Mr. Precious Otameh, confirmed the allegation to THiSDAY, saying that “it is true.”
Otameh said that a messag from Edo State Government House said that members of the association should not accept adverts from the APC and other opposition parties in the state.
He said: “We have been waiting for them for guidelines to no avail. They keep telling us not to erect any advert billboard from any opposition party until further notice.
Tiamiyu who promised to make further investigation, told THISDAY that APCON as a body is different from billboard owners.
He explained that while the job of billboard owner is to place adverts on billboards, APCON regulate advertising contents to ensure that they conformed to guiding regulations.
“I have heard the same complaints from billboard owners that Edo State Government has warned them not to erect any billboard from APC. I will carry more investigation on this because should this be true, it is quite unfortunate.
Ours (APCON), is to regulate the content of every advert to ensure it does not fall foul of the law. We don’t erect billboards.
Reacting, Edo State Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr. Chris Nekhihare, said that the state government has paid for billboards in advance, knowing that elections are coming.
When asked if his explanation suggested no more space for other parties to erect their campaign billboard, Nekhihare said all he knows is that the state government paid for many billboard spaces in advance because it knows election is coming.
