20th October, 2017
The Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) has reached an agreement with the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) on the payment of ground rent on billboards installed in any of the agency’s parks or gardens.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between officials of the Association and the General Manager of LASPARK, Mrs. Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola at LASPARK’s Head Office in Agidingbi, Ikeja.
The General Manager, who commended the Association for their commitment to pay the ground rent, explained that the fee was not an additional charge from the state government as initially claimed by the association.
“The payment to the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA) is an Advertising Permit Fee, which is statutory while the charges from LASPARK is purely a fee for placing billboards on the Agency’s beautified and landscaped sites,” she reiterated.
While responding to some issues raised by the association, the General Manager stated that over the years, the management of the agency had twice reduced the ground rent fee.
Adebiyi-Abiola stated that further reduction would not be tenable considering the concession the agency had ceded to OAAN.
She gave the association up till 31st October to pay all their outstanding bills after which full enforcement would commence.
She reminded OAAN that the agency had been magnanimous, noting that the issue had been lingering for the past two years.
Adebiyi-Abiola enjoined OAAN to collaborate more with the agency towards making the environment a better place to live.
The General Secretary of the association, Mr. Femi Ogala, who had earlier sought for justification for the ground rental fee pleaded with LASPARK to make the fee more affordable for members of the association.
Ogala while thanking the management of LASPARK promised that the executive would reach out to other members of the association to ensure total compliance with the payment.
He appealed to the General Manager of the agency to always consult the Association on all issues that would impact the already existing relationship between the agency and the association.