The Advertisement and Use of State-Owned Properties Prohibition Bill 2022 has been approved by the Rivers state House of Assembly.
Shortly after the bill’s public hearing, which was attended by a number of parties, including security agencies and Civil Society Organizations, the House passed it.
The bill’s passage had been endorsed by the Public Hearing committee in its report.
Martin Amaewhule, the House Leader and a representative of Obio/Akpor Constituency 1, supported the legislation.
It aims to outlaw outdoor advertising, namely the posting of bills, posters, and other materials, as well as the use of state-owned institutions or public schools for political campaigns. It also aims to outlaw the use of residential structures for non-residential uses.
The Bill says that violating any of the law’s numerous parts will result in fines of N3 million, N200,000, and N400,000.
The Deputy Speaker, Edison Ehie, stated during the public hearing on Monday in Port Harcourt that the measure is intended to “sanitise the state from the usage of residential premises for commercial reasons.”
Ehie, who also served as the committee’s chairman, claimed that the law is necessary, particularly in places where homes are being turned into nightclubs.
Speaker of the House Ikuyi Ibani requested that the public hearing committee’s report be changed to include“a ban on all commercial activities within the Old GRA” while praising the committee’s work.
While waiting for the bill to be signed into law, the Rivers State Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Micheal Besong Ogah, who was represented by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Femi Ayodeji, promised that the command will execute the law.
