By Sarah NEGEDU
Tension is rising in the nation’s capital as the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s Department of Outdoor Advertisement and Signage, DOAS, square off over allegations of intimidation and corruption in Abuja’s outdoor advertising space.
NANS had over the weekend, accused DOAS officials of “cabalistic” activities targeted at young entrepreneurs, including one of its ambassadors, Comrade Dr. Donald Amagbo, a licensed advertising practitioner and former NANS Zone C Public Relations Officer.
In a statement signed by its National Secretary General, Comrade Anzaku Shedrack Ovye, the student body alleged harassment, regulatory abuse, and a deliberate attempt by DOAS enforcement teams, security agencies, and media proxies to suppress competition.
The association also alleged a major conflict of interest, claiming some DOAS officials were running private advertising companies while using the department’s regulatory powers to shut out rivals.
NANS specifically mentioned an assistant director in DOAS said to also double as the Managing Director of Media Outcome Ltd, a company they believe is behind the alleged monopoly.
According to the statement, “This is a classic case of civil servants moonlighting as entrepreneurs to enrich themselves at the expense of young professionals. DOAS-FCTA has become a rogue department, operating against the spirit of the Constitution and the recent court order granting autonomy to local governments.”
NANS further demanded the scrapping of DOAS and a probe of its officials, insisting that a new regulatory body should be led by a licensed practitioner from the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, or the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria, OAAN, not by a civil servant, to “ensure fairness and professionalism.”
It also called for the immediate implementation of the ARCON Act, which restricts advertising regulation to certified professionals.
The association went on to charge the Code of Conduct Bureau to investigate the assistant director it accused of dabbling into private advertising, describing the claim as an abuse of office.
NANS warned that any further intimidation of Amagbo, whom it described as a man of “integrity and self-esteem,” would trigger large-scale student protests across Abuja.
Amid the accusations, a senior DOAS official, who asked not to be named because they were not authorised to speak, dismissed the allegations as recycled falsehoods.
Our sources claims that say no such things in the department, as the said company has been researched and found not to have any link with DOAS or its staff.
The official added that this was not the first time such claims had surfaced. “Even last year this same guy made the same accusations and it was thoroughly investigated and found that the company is not owned by any of our staff.
“These are registered companies whose board membership, management and other information are in public domain, so how do you claim a staff owns a company and no one will know about that? These are not information one can keep away from the public.”
The source further referenced recent engagement with AMAC. “Only recently, the AMAC chairman was in our office sometimes last month and he did confirm that they don’t have anybody collecting such advert revenues, so you see that all these are false accusations.”
Last week, The Abuja Inquirer reported that AMAC faced scrutiny over an alleged N3 billion advert revenue scam. But the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to the AMAC Chairman, Kingsley Madaki, denied knowledge of such a scandal.
He explained that the council no longer directly collects mobile advert revenue, having concessioned the responsibility to DOAS. According to him, AMAC now only receives a percentage of the revenue DOAS remits.
