Kwara Advert Agency, PDP Trade Words On Campaign Billboards Removal
Stephen Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
Officials of the Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA) have removed campaign billboards belonging to Engr Kale Kawu, the Gubernatorial Candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), for alleged violation of advertising campaign rules, environmental protection standards, and destruction of public infrastructure.
Of the two political billboards affected, one is located at Adabata Junction, while the other is hung on the public water facility (motorized borehole) at Bata Shop, Agaka – both of which the agency considered an abuse of public facilities.
While the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the State government agency’s action amounted to political suppression and intimidation of its party, as well as the opposition, the
General Manager of KWASAA, Mr Toba Adeyeye, refuted such claims, saying the Agency is not partisan, and has been applying the same rules across board.
The General Manager, who led the taskforce on Wednesday, said they carried out the enforcement exercise following receipt of several complaints from the public, describing it as the height of irresponsibility for any individual to dig a portion of road for erection of a political billboard.
He said that the Agency was only discharging its statutory duties of regulating the placement of outdoor advertising billboards across the state.
“We are out because we have received numerous complaints by the public. We just left Adabata Junction, where we discovered that the road was actually dug. A newly constructed road was dug for the placement of a billboard. It is totally unhealthy and unbelievable,” he told reporters on the sideline of the enforcement campaign.
“When we even got the report, we could not even believe that anybody could actually do such a thing. The safety part of it is that we need to pull it down and then examine such persons that decided to dig a road where you know is majorly for motorists and pedestrians.
“The road that was destroyed belongs to the people of Kwara. It’s a road that they use the taxpayers’ money to fix. How can you possibly just dig the road and say you want to use it for a political campaign? We can’t use taxpayers’ money to fix a road. Then, suddenly, some people are digging or destroying it to erect billboards.
“The second one that we also have issue with is that it’s a government property. It’s public infrastructure. If you need to do any form of advertisement or campaign or any sort, like you need a government infrastructure to do that purpose, you need to first of all seek an approval from the relevant agencies. We work closely with the Ministry of Water Resources, which happens to be the owner of the water tanks, and anybody that seeks approval, there are procedures that are required.
“So, it just comes to us as a shock that anybody could even just do that. How did they even gain access into these premises? How can you just go into a government infrastructure and say you want to hang something there without anybody’s approval?”
The General Manager, while refuting claims that they are targeting the opposition parties in the state, said the Agency is not partisan, and has been applying the same rules across board.
“We are not really partisan, but we will do our job, no matter the party involved, no matter the candidate involved. The most important thing for us at KWASAA is Kwara. Kwara comes first, no matter the party, no matter the candidate,” he clarified.
“We just need to make sure that we put things in order. For us, we understand that some people might perceive it as an attack on a particular candidate. They (PDP) also have other billboards in town, which we did not even touch. But now, if you look around town, they are the only feasible party or candidate that is currently having billboards around town.
“Previously, during the primary elections, we had the same enforcement that affected even the ruling party greatly. If any ruling party candidate commits any of these offences, we are also going to pull it down, which we had done, majorly during their own primary elections, when we had so many of such campaigns.”
Speaking on awareness creation for the general public, Adeyeye said: “We have done a lot of awareness before now. We have been on almost all the radio stations in the state, saying the same thing. But some people do not comply. And that’s also what even necessitated us having stakeholders’ engagement, concerning political campaigns just about two weeks ago.”
He said the exercise is continuous, urging members of the public most especially politicians to conduct themselves properly.
“This exercise is a continuous thing. People violate almost every day, especially this season. But we are just using this medium to also tell the people that we are not against any political party or any candidate.
What we just want is that, let’s do things in order,” he said.
Anybody that is campaigning is campaigning to come and represent the people of Kwara State, he added.
But the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Engr. Suleiman Bolakale Kawu, and his party, accused the administration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of using government machinery to suppress the opposition ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Kawu and the PDP raised the concern following the alleged removal of the candidate’s campaign billboards at Agaka Community and Adabata Junction in Ilorin on Wednesday.
Kawu, who condemned the development, described the reported action as a disturbing display of intolerance towards legitimate political competition, urging the Governor to confront his opponents with ideas, programmes and performance rather than the attempt to limit their political visibility.
The latest incident reportedly occurred at Agaka, where the candidate’s family house is located, with persons allegedly identified as government agents seen removing billboards bearing Kawu’s name and image.
The development came days after officials of the Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency (KWASAA) reportedly removed Kawu’s billboards mounted around the Geri Alimi Underpass bridge, sparking a dispute involving signage contractors.
The contractors had raised concerns over alleged intimidation and interference by agents of the state government, further fuelling the controversy over the removal of opposition campaign materials.
Kawu, however, said attempts to erase his political visibility would not diminish his commitment to the state or his aspiration to govern.
He added: “My name may be removed from a billboard, but my commitment to Kwara cannot be removed, nor can my aspiration to serve or the people’s right to choose their leaders.
“You may remove a billboard, but you cannot remove an idea whose time has come.”
Kawu maintained that the State belongs to all its citizens and should remain a State where political competition and divergent opinions could be expressed freely and peacefully.
He assured residents that he would continue to engage the electorate openly despite what he described as attempts to diminish his political visibility.
Also reacting, the Kwara State PDP alleged that agents of the state government, operating under the guise of the Kwara State Water Corporation, were involved in the forceful removal of Kawu’s billboard at Agaka and other locations across Ilorin.
The party, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, linked the latest action to Governor AbdulRazaq’s forthcoming turbanning ceremony, alleging that the Governor was uncomfortable with his political guests seeing PDP campaign materials and the growing visibility of the opposition in the State capital.
The PDP said the reported urgency with which the billboard was removed, alongside the presence of government agents at other locations, suggested that the administration was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the growing acceptance of the opposition party.
According to the party, “the Governor and his men need to understand one simple fact: he can remove the billboards but cannot remove the PDP from the hearts of the people.”
The PDP further argued that the electorate had moved beyond campaign billboards, saying voters had already formed opinions and political convictions based on their experiences.
“The people have moved beyond billboards. They have made their choices, formed their opinions and developed their political convictions based on their experiences,” the statement said.
The opposition party also claimed that the growing profile of Kawu and the influence of former Senate President Bukola Saraki remained political realities that could not be erased through the removal of campaign materials.
It said: “Kwara people are not billboards. Their voices cannot be dismantled. Their political choices cannot be pulled down. Their support cannot be removed with government trucks and ladders.”
The PDP consequently called on Governor AbdulRazaq to halt what it described as political intimidation and direct government agencies to stop removing its legitimate campaign materials.
The party urged the Governor to focus on issues affecting the people and prepare to face the electorate rather than deploying government machinery against opposition campaign activities.
