Osun begins enforcement of Signage Laws to save lives

As torrential rains began to wreak havoc in various parts of the State, the Special Adviser to the Governor and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Osun State Signage, Hoarding and Advertisement Agency (O’Signage), Mrs Dupe Ajayi Gbadebo, has indicated the preparedness of the Agency to commence the enforcement of the signage law in the State.

Addressing newsmen in Osogbo, Mrs Ajayi- Gbadebo said that demand notices have been served to signage owners while removal notices have also been placed on illegal and wrongly placed signposts and billboards across the State.

She said removal notices placed on signages was intended to instil sanity, compel registration and make defaulters to settle approved bills to the coffers of the State Government.

She therefore called on individuals and corporate bodies with such notices to come to the Signage office to fulfill their obligations and get clearance.

The O’signage boss urged those who want to make payments to the Agency to do so directly to the Government account in various banks, saying that the Agency does not allow its staffers to collect cash payments.

According to Mrs Ajayi-Gbadebo, the State Government is most concerned about safety of lives, adding that vision blights do occur as a result of competitive location of several bill boards along roadsides and often results in accidents and loss of lives.

She pointed out that rainstorms are capable of forcefully removing not well erected billboards and signposts which can pose serious dangers to lives and property of innocent people.

The O’signage chief executive disclosed that the three core objectives that inform the activities of signage Agency are to standardize erection of boards and signage in an orderly manner; create environmental aesthetics; encourage and enhance commercial activities.

She explained further that activities of the Agency is devoid of political colouration.

Mrs Ajayi-Gbadebo said whether political or religious and any other type of poster or signage, the owners must register with Government properly and the Agency would guide them on the right way and appropriate places to paste posters or erect billboards.

She said the State could no longer tolerate the manner major streets have been defaced with posters, other signage as well as billboards and appealed to whoever wants to use public space for advertisement to come to the Agency for registration.

She added that any individual, religious organization, political party, company or business owner who attempts to use public space for advertisement without the authorization of the Signage Agency would not only forfeit such billboards but will also be arrested and prosecuted.

The O’Signage Boss warned that pasting of posters indiscriminately would no longer be allowed in any part of the State and that only those who register appropriately would be able to make use of the public space for advertisement purposes.

Soliciting the support of the citizens to the activities of the agency, Mrs Ajayi-Gbadebo disclosed that the Agency allows reasonable payment arrangements of annual dues, as well as the need to patronize professional advertisers.

The signage dues, according to her, is determined by sizes or location as well as the level of industrial concerns involved with the signage.