…allege harassment, extortion, multiple taxes
- LASAA boss shuns inquest
Advertising agencies, under the aegis of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, have cried out over what they describe as unethical practices of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, which has allegedly hijacked their jobs and made life unbearable for practitioners.
The advertisers are urging Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, in the spirit of the ‘ease of doing business’, to call the LASAA officials to order, by making them face their original role of advert and signage regulation, rather than use the advantage of office to hijack jobs “from we commoners.”
According to them, LASAA, apart from being a regulatory agency, has now put on the toga of a bullying competitor, as its operators, using armed policemen, go about snatching advert jobs and extorting “the real advertisers” whenever the latter seek the regulator’s approval for outdoor advertisement.
Most of the sites are managed by them (LASAA) and that has placed us in a tight corner, as there are no patronages and several agencies have shut operations. Things are tough and we are in a serious dilemma
ADVERTISERS COMPLAIN
The Managing Director, Tonas and Associate, Mr. Dele Abudu, told The Point that some officials of LASAA, who were supposed to play a supervisory role as a regulatory authority, were now competing with them through veto power.
According to him, in most cases, the officials would declare some areas ‘untouchable’, that they are not available for agencies to place advertisements, only to see advertisements at the sites a few weeks later. The agencies would later find that the mysterious appearance of adverts in ‘untouchable areas was the handiwork of LASAA through its unscrupulous officials.”
“Most of the sites are managed by them and that has placed us in a tight corner, as there are no patronages and several agencies have shut operations. Things are tough and we are in a serious dilemma,” he added.
The Chief Executive Officer, Endless Possibilities Advertising Agency, Mr. Dapo Olagunju, also said, “Our businesses are dying; major companies like Dunlop, Michelin, and many others have closed shop and relocated to neighbouring countries like Ghana, Cameroon, and Cote ‘D ivoire. LASAA is frustrating our businesses, they were supposed to play a supervisory role, but their attitude towards us is akin to that of touts.
“Despite the fact that we are still battling recession and unpaid salaries, the unwary attitude of LASAA officials send wrong signals to foreign investors, who want to merge with some members of OAAN.”
The President, OAAN, Mr. Babatunde Adedoyin, lamented the excessive charges by the regulator, as such behavior threatened the survival of outdoor businesses.
According to him, though the industry is facing a plethora of challenges, having to also compete with LASAA and its officials is life-threatening to operators and uncalled for.
He said, “In the last 10 years, we have been battling, not only LASAA but all other agencies, to let them reason with us and review their unfriendly rates, which many of them imposed on us.
“We need a rate that is not only friendly to us but to our clients also. This money is not our money and at the end of it, everyone will bear part of the pain. For instance, if we bill Cadbury or Coca-cola higher than expected because of LASAA’s high charges, the company will push it on their products and it is the consumer that will bear it in the long run.”
“So, if the government thinks it is making money, the burden is coming back to us in a way. What has happened in the last 10 years is that, they made our medium so expensive that it is only the multinationals that can place adverts or campaigns on billboards. Clients are running away because they believe that the rates are too high,” he added.
The Chairman, Troyka Holdings, Mr. Biodun Shobanjo, said some of LASAA’s operations were directly competing with practitioners within the industry and had succeeded in preventing the industry from being a level-playing field for Out-Of-Home practitioners within the state.
The Managing Director, Heritage outdoor advertisers, Mr. Demola Korede, said apart from the intimidation from LASAA, multiple taxations were also a big challenge to all operators.
He lamented, “We are being overtaxed because there are some instances that you pay to more than two agencies for one particular site. Things are really hard now. We can’t say because we have paid Inland Water Ways Authority or LASAA or Parks and Gardens, we want to increase the rate of our board, it doesn’t work that way. It is still the same rate, so that is multiple taxation.
“The rates payable to government are high and we have always been appealing to the government that it should look at those rates again and bring them down. This is because it is causing loss of jobs in our industry.”
LASAA BOSS SHUNS INQUEST
However, several calls and text messages put across to the Managing Director, LASAA, Mr. Mobolaji Sanusi, were frustrated, as he failed to respond to the allegations. When our correspondents also visited the LASAA headquarters in Lagos, they were told that Sanusi was not around even though they had sighted him climbing the stairs to his office.
HISTORY OF LASAA
Established in 2006, LASAA is an agency responsible for regulating and controlling outdoor advertising and signage displays in Lagos State.
Meanwhile, before the establishment of LASAA, the Out-Of-Home sphere in Lagos could be best described as haphazard.
It was characterised by the arbitrary erection of billboards and unregulated pasting of posters. However, with the introduction of LASAA, sanity was restored to the industry. The body was saddled with the responsibility of regulating while sanitising practitioners on ethics and acceptable practices in the industry.
Within that period, LASAA clamped down on offenders operating within the sphere. Several OOH sites, which were arbitrarily erected and posed danger to residents and commuters within the area, were demolished.
The agency also took ownership of some boards within the state and has so far introduced creativity and innovation in the industry. However, operators now allege that the agency’s role has been diversified from being a regulatory body to operating as a competitor.
