Operators of outdoor advertising businesses in Nigeria under the aegis of Outdoor Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, OAAN, has claimed that their survival is under continuous threat following series of debt owe them especially by government of the federation.
They have accused the Lagos State government of owing them over N1 billion and called for the Buhari-led federal government to come to their aid.
PRINTERS DIGEST gathered that the N1 billion is the total sum resulting from allotted sites for President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s 2015 election campaigns. The practitioners among other things also decried the inability of member companies and clients to access foreign exchange to bring in raw materials for production, saying also that high rate of charges by states on both redundant and occupied billboards was incredibly alarming.
According to Babatunde Adedoyin, OAAN President, “the sector is groaning under serious economic crunch which is noticed on about 70 percent of member company billboards nationwide”. Adedoyin also noted that the present economic situation is forcing clients to cut their advertising budget which has taken toll on member companies.
“For the first quarter of this year, there were no media orders from most companies, some of them are still trying to put things together because of the uncertainty that we are facing today. That is the basic truth and I can’t start mentioning organizations. Some even owe the last two quarters of last year; I am talking about multinationals.”
Adedoyin went further to say, “the regulators are looking for money; Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency, LASAA is trying to collect money at all costs and everybody is looking for ways to get money from operators because allocation coming from the centre is little or nothing, therefore most of them are now thinking that there are internally generated revenues, IGR, and unfortunately those of us they are trying to get the money from are having the same problem”.
