From Tony Osauzo, Benin
Opposition political parties will have an uphill task marketing their candidates in Edo State through advertisements, as Governor Godwin Obaseki has allegedly warned billboard owners in the state not to accept any campaign billboards from the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) and other parties.
A member of the billboards Association in the state, Ibrahim Momoh, who confirmed the development yesterday in Benin, said the governor has threatened that anybody who violates the order will lose his/her board.
On his part, the State Director, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Abdul Hakeem Tiamiyu, said he heard the complaints from billboard owners on the matter but promised to make further investigation, adding that APCON as a body was different from Billboard owners.
He said the job of billboard owners is to erect Adverts on billboards while APCON regulates advertising content to ensure they conform with 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 out more investigation into 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”, Tiamiyu stated.
The Assistant Secretary, Billboard Owners Association, Edo State chapter, Mr Precious Otameh, also confirm the government directive saying, “it is true” and that “a message came from Edo State Government House tell us that we should not accept Adverts from APC and other opposition parties in the state.
“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,” he said.
In his comment, the state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Mr Chris Nekhihare, said the state government has paid for billboards in advance, knowing elections are coming.