BY RITA OYIBOKA
THE Delta State Government has signalled a sweeping overhaul of its outdoor advertising sector, as the Delta State Signage and Advertisement Agency (DESSAA) rolls out a broad-based reform agenda aimed at boosting compliance, blocking revenue leakages, digitalising processes, and restoring order to a largely fragmented industry.
This was disclosed during the maiden familiarisation meeting between the agency’s new management, led by Managing Director, Mr. Sebastine Okoh, and third-party practitioners and stakeholders, held yesterday at the State Secretariat, Asaba.
The move comes on the heels of sustained efforts by the state government to regulate signage operations, including the recent passage of the Structures for Signage and Advertisement Agency Amendment Bill, designed to strengthen enforcement and enhance internally generated revenue (IGR).
Speaking during the meeting, Okoh made it clear that the era of opacity and informal dealings was over, noting that the reset was driven by transparency, structure and technology.
According to Okoh, practitioners will have to present evidence of proper registration, both as companies and as certified professionals under relevant regulatory bodies, before being allowed to operate. He further revealed that all billboard structures across the state would be subjected to a detailed audit and tagging process to establish ownership and ensure accountability.
The agency also announced plans to fully automate its operations, transitioning from a manual system to a digital platform that will handle applications, approvals, payments and documentation.
As part of immediate measures, the agency has ordered a temporary halt to all activities by practitioners and agents pending the outcome of the verification process, citing widespread non-compliance and substandard billboard placements across the state. “If you take a critical look at the state, most of the boards do not meet the required standards. That is why we need to review all documentation before any structure is allowed,” Okoh noted.
While announcing that payments have been temporarily suspended, he warned against dealing with unauthorised consultants, stressing that any such engagement would be at the practitioner’s risk. “No one should make payments to consultants outside the agency. If you do so, you are on your own,” he cautioned, adding that enforcement operations would soon commence at full scale.
The managing director also disclosed that a high-level meeting with local government chairmen has been scheduled for next month to harmonise operational modalities and establish a unified enforcement framework across the state.
Speaking at the meeting, Otunba Ovuakporie of Brandstrom Concepts described the agency as previously “comatose,” weighed down by inefficiencies and the activities of non-state actors who have undermined revenue generation, urging the new management to work with existing consultants to ensure synergy in operations.
In a show of support, the South-East Zonal Chairman of the Out-of-Home Advertising Association (OAAA), Vivian Uhanmobhie, pledged the cooperation of practitioners with the new management, expressing optimism that the reforms would reposition the sector.
