By Nnaya Eziyi, Umuahia
The Abia State Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSAA) has pulled down over 1000 illegal bill boards and sign posts in Umuahia, the state capital, threatening to extend the action across the state.
The General Manager of the agency, Chief Gan Alozie stated this in an interview with our correspondent while reacting to complains by owners of the boards and posts in his office in Umuahia.
Alozie accused the complainants of alleged failure to pay the required levy for the boards and post as well as using them to either deface the aesthetics of the city or cause obstructions on roads.
He said; “We go only after people with outdoor signage and not only getting levies from them, our duty is also to regulate the signage and be able to check the esthetics and beauty of the state, he argued.
“So it is not just about the levy which most of them do not understand, it is also about putting the boards in the right perspective where they are meant to be.
He dismissed insinuations that staff of the agency had been either extorting money from offenders or using thugs in discharging of their duties, saying they work according to the law.
Alozie, who noted the need for signage owners to comply with the law guiding their installation, appealed to them to cooperate with the agency without attracting its wrath.
He expressed worry over complains by the state chapter of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) over alleged removal of the member signage, he added that the agency was not aware of such complain.
Explaining that the agency is aware that foundations, religious and not-for-profit making- organizations are exempted from some of the agencies levies, he added that it had invited them for dialogue.
According to the general manager, the agency was partnering with similar agencies to avoid environmental pollution in the state.
