The Nigerian Out-of-Home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), as a full-fledged registered sectoral member of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) operates under the rules and regulation of the council which has the sole authority to regulate every advertising activity carried out within its space.

OAAN was established for many reasons which include to protect the interest of outdoor advertising against any discriminatory or repressive legislation and wanton destruction to provide a forum for dispute settlement / resolution between members or between members and other parties, to promote and sustain the recognition of the association as the only competent body to determine the competence of outdoor advertising companies in Nigeria as well as to regulate and control the practice of outdoor advertising in conformity with statutory and industry guidelines. Another reason was to develop and maintain standards for its members while also developing a vigilant, informed and active membership which is conscious of its rights, interests and obligations.

However, the outdoor association since its inception about three decades ago has continued to face both internal and external challenges, either from its members or the signage agencies. According to feelers from reliable sources, some members of the association are also antagonising themselves by indulging in some shady operations that are detrimental to the association for selfish reasons. The sources hinted that some prominent members of the association are fond of cutting corners to win personal business at the expense of others. They revealed that some go as far as charging below the generally acceptable rates for billboards services by cutting their rates against the stipulated price stated by the association.

The reliable source also stated that some of their former executive members took up appointment jobs offered by their state governments, even when such a state does not have any existing outdoor regulatory agency in place. These executives ensured they leverage the political affiliation as a platform to get favour for their agencies while their appointments lasted, giving out executive orders that are not in line with OAAN, thereby creating over-regulation without giving a hoot over the consequences to other member agencies.

However, the establishment of the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) on the other hand was to act as a watchdog over outdoor activities in Lagos State. LASAA was founded in 2006 to regulate outdoor businesses by bringing sanity and helping to drive growth in the OOH industry in Lagos.

With the birth of LASAA, OAAN has not breathed a new fresh air as it is always at loggerheads with the agency. Right from the tenure of LASAA’s pioneer managing director, Makanjuola Alabi and several others before the present MD, Prince Docemo Adedamola, the frosty relationship between LASAA and OAAN have persisted, as it has continuously lacked mutual relationship understanding and cordial relationship  between successive managing directors of LASAA and the leadership of OAAN. This is because aggrieved members of the Association have continually blamed LASAA for doing its oversight functions. Most often, OAAN will accuse the Lagos agency of using its powers to torment and strangulate operators by creating harsh regulations while imposing huge levies on members.

All through these years, the relationship between these two has been like that of a prey and its predator, heightened by various counter accusations from each party, which has made their relationship very unhealthy. The bone of contention which bothers on various issues such as multiple taxations, billing for vacant billboards, registration of non-ARCON or OAAN members by the signage agency, the plea to halt the plan of 7 major roads earmarked for concession in Lagos and the lack of LASAA board that will oversee and monitor the activities and transactions between LASAA and OAAN. Some of these hiccups have led to the de-listing of about 71 members of OAAN due to financial insolvency as a result of some of the unnecessary billing according to the president of the association, Emmanuel Ajufo.

Over and over again, the outdoor practitioners in both Lagos and Kaduna States have continued to point out that the outdoor business in Lagos and Kaduna states have suffered setbacks because of unfair regulation and lopsided policies on road management by signage agencies controlling their states for failing to provide a level playing field for practitioners. The last straw that broke the camel’s back was recently, when Kaduna State Urban Planning and Development Authority pulled down billboard structures of OAAN practitioners, asking them to upgrade to LEDs and also prevented the owners from recovering them, while selling them off to those who trade in scraps.

This has angered the Advertising experts under the aegis of the Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups (HASG) who condemned the governments of Lagos and Kaduna over their aggressive campaigns against outdoor advertising. This compelled the practitioners to hold a conference where Mr. Ajufo, President of OAAN described the actions of Lagos and Kaduna States as an onslaught against the association, accusing them of refusing to work within the framework of the laws that established it, and lamenting the failure of the Lagos State Government to constitute and inaugurate a governing board to supervise its activities

In view of all these, at the recently held 37^th Annual General Meeting of the Outdoor Advertising Agency of Nigeria (OAAN), which had the theme, OOH Business and Nigerian Regulatory Laws, OAAN engaged stakeholders on challenges of the industry. Its focal message was based on collaboration, synergy and understanding between practitioners and signage agencies. At the event, they stated the need for continuous engagement with signage partners to promote understanding and harmonious working relationships.

The president of the association, during his welcome address, re-emphasised the dire need for signage agencies to focus on ensuring the growth of the advertising industry through a more friendly and strategic approach.

He acknowledged the nexus among agencies as partners in progress, while cautioning the regulatory agencies against seeing OAAN as the only goose that lays the golden egg for the state. The Out-of-Home leader also disclosed that the association will pursue the approval of billboards as collateral by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). According to him, just the same way financial institutions ask for houses and other properties as collateral from practitioners who want to access funds for business growth, but the association is canvassing for use of billboards as collaterals.

“We are, therefore, going to pursue the recognition by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to use our billboards as collateral. As an association, we will continue to push for things that will bring sustainable growth to the industry and out-of-home advertising business.”

He urged LASAA officials to be more professional in their dealings with his members.

“We do not have anything against the signage agency earning income from their services to us; but we should not be seen as the state government’s major source of IGR after oil. Some of the signage agencies do not really know what they are regulating. Is it the structure or the advert on the structure or both? If for instance, they are concerned with the structure, as we believe they should be, then why do they charge per face of a billboard? If on the other hand, they are charging for the advertising on the board, where then is the justice in charging when the board is vacant? Most of the debts they claim that we owe are actually from charges on vacant sites,” Mr. Ajufo said.

Lagos State members of the association at the event also argued that the initiative by the state to concession and franchise some major roads within the metropolis, will promote monopoly and HASG is opposed to it. The OOH group also raised an alarm that LASAA has continued to grant individuals that are not registered practitioners to own billboards and operate, contrary to the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) guidelines, adding that this development is eroding ARCON’s regulatory functions and promoting quackery in the advertising industry.

They noted that LASAA’s plan to concession seven of the major roads in the state to bidders’ and the successful ones will own and operate franchises on such roads for a period of 10 years, adding that such a development is not good for the industry.

However, LASAA had, in a public statement earlier in the year, disclosed that concessioning of some of these major roads namely: Ikorodu Road, LASU/ Isheri Road, Lagos Badagry Expressway, Obafemi Awolowo Way, Funsho Williams Avenue, Apapa/ Oshodi Expressway, Ikeja and Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way are most desirous for the state’s economic gains.

According to the publication, the Lagos State government is desirous of stimulating the growth of the industry by creating an enabling environment to attract significant investment in long term modern advertising infrastructure, such as  digital infrastructure that has the end benefit of beautifying the state.

The state government gave details of the concession rights, adding that the objective is to align the significant capital expenditure with a long-term revenue framework that will deliver the maximum benefit to both the state and the selected concessionaire.

Meanwhile, a very reliable source within LASAA has confirmed that there is no end in sight over the controversy on concessioning, stating that plans are on-going to carry it through.

“No reversal of our position concerning the concession. The process is on-going, just that the political season has altered earlier arrangements. There is no way LASAA will cave in to blackmail and campaign of calumny,” the source said.