The Ekiti Government on Tuesday pulled down gubernatorial campaign billboards erected in any part of the state without official permission and payment of attached fees.
The government said there was no going back on its resolve to put a stop to indiscriminate mounting of billboards and littering of the environment with posters and leaflets.
The State Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports Development, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, said the exercise was not a witch-hunt.
He stressed that the development was to maintain sanity in the sector through proper management and control.
Ogunsuyi emphasised that the law regulating outdoor advertisement would henceforth apply to all persons, regardless of their political or religious affiliation.
According to him, the defacement of both public and private infrastructure has become a source of concern with posters and billboards of products, upcoming events and political campaigns becoming not only an eyesore but a health hazard.
He explained that no reasonable government would continue to tolerate the flagrant disregard for human health and hygiene.
The commissioner expressed surprise that most of the culprits were opinion leaders and educated people who should know the danger of the “unwholesome act”.
He said the State Signage and Advertising Agency had been mandated to prevent individuals, organisations, religious bodies and other stakeholders from defacing the environment in a bid to ensure cleanliness.
He advised that placement of any billboard must henceforth be registered with the agency.
Ogunsuyi solicited the support of all stakeholders for government’s effort at developing the state and protecting the overall interest of the people,
He warned that all recalcitrant individuals and groups of people trying to test the resolve of government would be dealt with according to the law of the land.
The government had warned that bill boards and campaign posters erected in unauthorised places would be pulled down.
