By Felix Durumbah
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA)’s Department of Outdoor Advertising and Signage (DOAS), the regulator for mobile advertising and signage in the nation’s capital, recorded massive strides in the last year, 2024.
One of the younger agencies of the Administration, DOAS raked in a princely N1,270, 961,982.74 within the period.
This is a massive figure for one of the youngest agencies of FCTA and was accomplished through good governance, effective and efficient supervision of policy delivery, and competent leadership offered by its Acting Director, Tpl. Akanimo Udoh, an old hand in the business, one who rose through the ranks to the top in the agency and,like a familiar broom, knows the nooks and crannies of the environment.
Of course, greater credit must go to FCT Minister, Barrister Nyesom Wike, and the FCT Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud Bunkure, who brainstormed to pick Udoh to act,in the first instance.
The department’s achievements -whatever they are -are the handiworks of the governance structural engineering deliberately put in place by both Ministers.
It is a given,all over the world, that once an organization’s head is a performer, he/she appoints like-for-like subordinates.
Keen watchers of recent events in FCTA say the new, billion-Naira DOAS is now a major contributor to the Administration’s common purse.
For an Administration whose leadership keeps crafting and implementing global standard revenue-generating ideas to reposition Abuja as a principal hub in Africa in terms of provision of functional state-of-the-art infrastructure and services comparable to those in the world’s capitals, hefty funds are critically required for the undertaking. Herein comes DOAS -to an extent.
From a yearly advert and signage revenue of less than N300 million just a couple of years ago, DOAS has transformed into an income-generating behemoth that the Administration is justifiably proud of.
Certainly,much more is expected of DOAS in 2025, if some of its constraints are urgently attended to by FCTA higher-ups.
A drive-through or leisurely walk-about in Abuja shows the neatness of advertising and signage items all around the city.
The arrangement, standardization, clarity, and distinct quality of the items have injected a sparkling, breathtaking beauty to the general aesthetics of Nigeria’s capital city. One only needs move along many roads in Abuja,for instance the Goodluck Jonathan Expressway, to ‘breathe in’ this awe-inspiring work of art by DOAS.
Additionally, sub-standard billboards and signage professionally adjudged as being below par and unbefitting of Abuja’s status, were uprooted, never to be mounted again.
Visitors to Abuja are left craving another, immediate return when they leave.
Within the period under review, over 1000 telecommunication masts were erected in strategic locations within the city which in turn gave a boost to information transmission. Presence of masts equates to more income for DOAS. Information transmission, depending on the type, can spawn new businesses –these would require advertising and signage platforms; thus, translating to additional revenue for DOAS.
It is a win-win situation for all parties involved.
With the exhilarating status of a huge construction site which Minister Wike’s structural transformative activities have turned Abuja into, a myriad of opportunities sprouted for many professionals of different fields.
For instance, outdoor advertising practitioners. These have swooped on Abuja in droves. To practice here, they have to get registered with DOAS.
In this wise, the agency registered a total of 125 new ones to complement the existing figure, in a move to spark distinctive competition, bring out sharp quality, all for the benefit of FCT residents amid enhanced revenue for FCTA.
For an agency that frequently interacts with the business public, DOAS has had to engage in sensitization programmes, one-on-one meetings, print and broadcast media reach-outs, road shows, to communicate and/or enforce its policies to the people.
This strategy has, largely,blended the agency with its ‘clientele’. Its corporate office in Jahi is a beehive. Smiling faces of satisfied members of the public who come for solutions to one issue or the other, is a common sight.
Management,staff and the public are on the same page -thanks to the ingenious social engineering of the current management.
However, not all is rosy with the agency.
There are still out on the streets touts hired by some outlawed private outfits that claim to be acting for a particular Area Council in FCT, illegally collecting mobile advert and signage revenues. These ruffians routinely manhandle DOAS staff, leading to several interventions by law enforcement agents.
Aside that, DOAS needs more function-specific vehicles such as tipper, cranes, Hilux vehicles to enable it deliver on all aspects of its assignments.
Regular staff training and retraining is another need. A technically equipped workforce is able to deliver better value, higher qualities, than one that isn’t.
Also, not all of the agency’s functions are digitalized even as there are plans by the FCTA authorities to do so, probably this year.
The thinking is: if DOAS can generate over N1billion without full digitalization, it could hit the dizzying trillion Naira mark when digitalized.
There is no gainsaying that, if adequately provided for, FCTA authorities have on their hands, in DOAS, the capital territory’s own tasty income admixture of ‘Niger Delta oil’ and ‘gold,diamond mines of Zamfara’.
