WHY WE REMOVED POLITICIANS' POSTERS –AGENCY
The General Manager of the Ogun State Signage Agency, Mr. Siji Oyesile, has faulted claims by some politicians that the removal of their posters from some streets in Abeokuta, the state capital, was politically motivated.
Oyesile said this in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, while was reacting to reports that posters of some governorship aspirants on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party were removed because they were not in the political camp of the state governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.
Faulting the allegation, the general manager said those making it were being economical with the truth.
He explained that the signage board had written prominent political parties and religious organisations that they needed to apply before any poster or bill board could be displayed.
Oyesile said, 'There is nothing like politics in what we are doing. Before now, we wrote to theatre arts practitioners, religious organisations, the PDP, the Action Congress and the All Nigeria Peoples Party, that is the parties that we know exist here, that we don't want the walls and public places to be defaced with posters. We also required that they seek approval before such posters and pasted.
'So, when we discovered these posters, we had no option but to remove them. It is not based on any political consideration. Before now, we already removed the posters and bill boards of two of the governorship contestants. Mr. Kayode Amusan and Mr. Titus Eweje.'
He said that the agency had acquired a washing machine, which he said was capable of removing posters in minutes if the owners of such posters failed to get approval before pasting them.
'We already have the machine. If anyone, not just a political party, displays his posters without obtaining the necessary approval, we will wash them off the wall. The approval is one thing, maintaining the cleanliness of the environment is another. People cannot just turn everywhere to display board. The town must be clean; not people defacing the wall the way they like,' he added.