Outdoor advertising and FCT’s revenue generation

The approved policy for a new system of outdoor advertising and signage by the FCT Administration is in collaboration with the six Area Councils of the FCT. The basic purpose of the policy is to regulate all matters regarding to Outdoor Advertisement and Signage, revamp and clean the environment; and to ostensibly improve the internally […]

The approved policy for a new system of outdoor advertising and signage by the FCT Administration is in collaboration with the six Area Councils of the FCT. The basic purpose of the policy is to regulate all matters regarding to Outdoor Advertisement and Signage, revamp and clean the environment; and to ostensibly improve the internally generated revenue of the FCT Administration for the transformation of other sectors of the FCT.
Through the outdoor advertising and signage system; more revenue will accrue to the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) as internally generated revenue (IGR). The policy is based upon a careful review of global studies on the safety of hoardings. The premise of the policy is that all hoardings are not dangerous. But clearly hoarding on roads, visible to traffic are potential dangers to drivers. It is for this reason that the outdoor advertising policy has given careful and high consideration to issues of road safety. This requires the policy to consider the location, design, size or type of sign along the arterial routes where the potential for conflicts with traffic safety is highest.
The policy is also known to be working for the city aesthetics; the global review has noted that there are a significant number of cities which discourage the use of large billboards are allowed within city. Hoardings are preferred in highways or if these large billboards are allowed within city limits, then these are restricted to business or commercial districts and areas. The agency mandated with overseeing issues must against visual clutter based on the emerging global practises as well as the need to maintain the character of the Federal Capital City.
Obviously, the FCT leadership intends for Abuja to be one of the best 20 cities in the world by 2020 and as such envisions a sanitised outdoor advertising and signage system in the FCT based on changing global practise. Let’s take a cursory look into how some world cities have regulated and sanitized their outdoor advertising; it is also clear that cities across the world are learning the need to balance aesthetics with revenue that they earn through advertisement, often the hard way. It was reported that Beijing, in its readiness for the Olympics had decided to remove all hoardings within the city. Its officials said that it was done to sanitise the city’s image; cranes had dismantled many of 90-odd billboards lining the city road. City officials prevented Beijing from becoming one very big time square.
Similarly, Arnold Schwarzenegger, as governor of California insisted on strict regulation of outdoor advertisements. The State’s outdoor advertising act 2005 is, he said, intends to protect public investment in highways to promote the safety and recreational value of public travel and to preserve natural beauty. In many cities of the UK, local councils have removed hoardings (billboards) which they say leads to improving visual environment and image. These cities say that the objective of the outdoor advertising is to “seek the enhancement of the physical character and visual appearance of the city”. The cities argue that “promotion signs”- hoardings which advertise products can significantly add to visual clusters in a locality and so are not encouraged in other cities; the outdoor advertisement policy is designed to discourage the proliferation of signs along major transport routes, including roadways and railways.
Illuminated signs at night provide a warm and more secure environment than unlit streets or sterile street lightening. Brightly lit areas, intensified by advertising signs reduce public feelings of fear in city areas; making them safer and friendlier. Discreet and well positioned advertising signs in rural areas have been seen to be of some value in reducing motorist boredom and thus making a positive contribution to safety. This new policy of the FCT Administration is predicated on the best global practice and essentially it is geared towards safety, beautification and an increased revenue generation which is vigorously pursued for the overriding benefit and interest of the residents of the FCT.
Ibro wrote from 17, Adisa Estate, Abuja. [email protected]