Use fake sticker, pay N5m fine, signage agency tells vehicle owners
The General Manager of the Ogun State Signage and Advertising Agency (OGSAA), Fola Onifade, has declared that the use of fake stickers by vehicle owners and counterfeiters attract a N5million fine.
Onifade said the move is to ensure that the state is not swindled or sabotaged economically by counterfeiters.
He made this declaration in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, at the official launch of the 2025 mobile advert permits.
He explained that the sticker has a barcode and when scanned it will reveal the particular vehicle the permit was issued for and the registration number.
The GM admitted that the introduction of e – sticker last has drastically reduced incidences of fake and also helped in the revenue generation for the state.
Onifade puts penalty and fine for non-compliance is N100,000, while fraudulent acts including using fake stickers on vehicle attract N5million
“If we get any vehicle with a fake sticker, the fine is N5million. People will argue that it (fine) is even more than the value of the vehicle. Yes, it is because we don’t want people to go faking it,” Onifade declared.
According to him, before the agency automated that permit there were incidences of counterfeiting which almost sent some of the franchisee to their early graves.
Onifade said daily and quarterly enforcements will be carried out to put acts of sabotage under check.
He said “Before we started the e-sticker there were many incidents of fake stickers. There was a time when one of the franchisees almost suffered a stroke when it was discovered that the sticker had been faked.
“That gave us the strong belief that we had to embrace e-sticker. The e-sticker has significantly reduced incidents of fake. I can tell you that last year, we recorded no incidents of fakes,” the GM said.
He expressed confidence that the agency was to meet its yearly target and hoped to sustain the feat and surpass the next year’s target.
Onifade said six franchisees have been shortlisted to work with the agency for next year.
Ayo Osipitan of PENTHOUSE Multimedia Services Limited, one of OGSAA’s franchisees, noted that the N5m fine would serve as a deterrent.
“There is no penalty that is too much for somebody that is sabotaging the economy of a state like Ogun State. I don’t think that is too much. If you say pay N15,000 or N10,000, there are certain people that are used to it. They just do it and throw your N15,000 at you.
“But you need to deter people, you need to let them know that they will face something that they are not likely, easily able to pay,” Osipitan said.
