The present government in Abia under the leadership of Dr. Alex Otti is turning the state into an economic hub, the deputy governor, Chief
Ikechukwu Emetu, has said.
Chief Emetu stated this in Aba, the state’s commercial capital, on Thursday – yesterday, April 3 – at a stakeholders engagement forum with the theme, “The future of outdoor advertising, challenges and prospects,” organized by Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSSAA).
Emetu, represented by the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Caleb Ajagba, said the Abia State government is making sure an enabling environment that will make all shades of businesses to thrive is put in place.
“When you stimulate demand through advertisement, people will want to buy the products, but where there are no access roads, it will be difficult to get the products.
“The present administration in the state is opening up access roads so that businesses can thrive. The Governor is trying to make Aba and Abia in general an economic hub so that advertisements could not only be placed in urban, but also in rural areas,” he said.
Emetu, who said he was optimistic that after the engagement a new story would be told about advertising in Abia State, urged practitioners to let consumers know what they would benefit from their services.
ABSSAA Managing Director cum Chief Executive Office, Hon (Mrs) Victoria Dibunma Onwubiko, said the engagement, an annual event in Abia, was put in place to repair the relationship with industry players which was badly damaged through the unprofessional conduct of past regimes.
“We then began to clean the horizon, embarking on the cutting and excavation of all outdoor structures that were either wrongly erected. We decluttered the horizon and by the time we were done, Aba and Umuahia were breathing some fresh air again,” she said.
Onwubiko announced some policy measures, which her agency has taken, including that all billboards across the state which are owned by churches, schools or other private organizations and are more than 20 feet by 19 feet in size, must be handed over to a commercial agency to handle as to enable government collect appropriate fees
She equally announced that the agency has taken over the management of all billboards in markets, while practitioners of both first party and third party must pay their annual dues as and when due to avoid sanction.
Onwubiko urged advertisement practitioners to always be guided by the agency’s regulatory policies, which she said was designed to promote a fair, transparent and sustainable advertising environment.
In his keynote address, Dr. Shola Akinsiku, chairman of Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) said the industry is one that does not only serve the consumers, but also generates revenue for the government.
Highlighting challenges facing the industry, Dr. Akinsiku said, “There is the challenge of charlatanism in the industry and also multiple taxation from the side of the government.”
He urged the industry practitioners to always follow changing market trends if they should remain in business.
