Kwara govt allegedly removes PDP guber candidate’s billboards in Ilorin

Printers of campaign posters in Enugu State may face sanctions as the state government yesterday tightened the noose on the public display of unauthorised posters in the city.

The state government cautioned printers and printing establishments against producing or facilitating posters for unauthorised display or pasting, stressing that any violator would be prosecuted in accordance with the law.
 
“Where any such poster is traced to a printer, the printer may be subject to investigation and appropriate sanctions where its involvement in the violation is established in accordance with the law,” the government warned
 
The government asked political parties, candidates, aspirants and campaign organisations to use radio, television, print and digital/social media, as well as approved billboards, to reach their audiences and voters.
 
Recall that the state government had earlier in the year announced a N150 million payment as a condition to mount campaign posters and billboards in the state.
 
In a public notice signed by its General Manager, Francis Aninwike, the Enugu Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency (ENSSAA), said the ban was pursuant to the provisions of the Enugu State Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency Law No. 12 of 2016, particularly Sections 4(1)(g), 33 and 34(4)(9), which provide the statutory basis for the agency’s regulation and control of outdoor advertising and the display of posters and other advertising materials.
 
“The ban on the display and pasting of posters remains in force across Enugu State,” the agency said, clarifying that the restriction is not limited to political or election-related posters but applies to all types of posters.
 
The agency stressed that the ban means no person or organisation is permitted to paste, affix or display posters anywhere on public or private property in the state.
 
“No person, political party, candidate, aspirant, campaign organisation or supporter is permitted to paste, affix or display posters on buildings, walls, fences, bridges, electricity poles, road infrastructure, public facilities or any other public or private surface or space within Enugu State,” it said.
 
ENSSAA further reminded the public that anyone who violates the ban on pasting or displaying posters in Enugu State is liable to a fine of up to N50 million, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Similarly, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State has allegedly ordered the removal of campaign billboards belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Suleiman Bolakale Kawu, in some parts of Ilorin metropolis.
 
Notably, the state’s Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA) stormed Agaka, the home of Kawu, to remove his giant billboard strategically placed before moving to the Adabata area of the metropolis.
 
Recall that KWASAA also removed another Kawu’s campaign billboard at Gerin-Alimi underpass last week.
 
The state PDP has, however, said the governor could only remove billboards, not ideas.
 
It condemned the action as “political intimidation,” alleging that agents of the state government had moved against Kawu’s billboards in major locations across the state capital.

The latest clampdown occurred yesterday when officials of KWASAA stormed Agaka, where Kawu’s family house is located, to remove his giant billboard.