We took Lagos State to court for better interpretation of law – Ajufo
By Felicia Nwosu
Emmanuel Ajufo, the President of Out-of-home Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), has explained that his association took a legal action against the Lagos State Government to enable them get a better legal interpretation of the law. He added that the lawsuit was aimed at determining the scope of jurisdiction of Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA) over the activities of OOH practitioners in the state.
Underscoring some of the reasons why they embarked on a legal action, the President, in an exclusive chat with MARKETING EDGE, said: “We are in court to seek interpretation of the law as it concerns how LASAA goes about its job, so that the court can tell us what and what is within LASAA’s jurisdiction. We need a better interpretation of the law to define the scope of where its power begins and ends. The court can advise us legally on what we are supposed to do as well.
“We do not have any problem with LASAA as an existing organization. It was even LASAA that advised us to go to court and seek interpretation. For instance, we still believe the charging for vacant sites is not legal and it is not within the ambit of their jurisdiction to charge for vacant boards,” he said.
The OAAN Chief also cited the lack of an existing instituted Board to oversee and monitor the activities and transactions between LASAA and members of OAAN. He said the presence of such a body will go a long way in resolving some of the challenges OOH practitioners encounter in their business.
“Again, LASAA has not had a board for a long time. The law demands that it sets up a board; so we need to go find out whether it is at their discretion or it is compulsory for them to have a board at LASAA where we can present our matters.
Shedding more light on the matter, Ajufo pointed out that the matter has lingered for a long time with no response coming from the Lagos State government, and, therefore, prompting his members to seek solution from a legal perspective.
“We want the court to put us in the right perspective. According to the law that set up LASAA, there are processes that guide government institutions before taking them to court. You need to give a 30 day notice; the intention of the law is that in-between the period of the notice, such parties would have settled. We have complied with everything the law demanded. We started the legal process towards the end of the first quarter of 2022. We are also trying to see if we can resolve everything outside the court, but since we don’t have a resolution yet, we are going ahead with the case,” he explained.
Recall that the Doyen of advertising, Dr. Biodun Shobanjo, during OAAN’s conference held last year, condemned what he described as discriminatory laws and policies imposed on members and practitioners of OAAN by some government agencies. He charged the practitioners to take legal action to challenge such unfriendly regulations in order to bring a revolution into the practice.
“There are some state governments who will say to you, even if your sites are blank, you still have to pay. I don’t understand what that payment is for. Like I have told you in different forums, you should challenge these things in court. But guess what, you guys don’t have the courage, you are so lenient on that,” he said.
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