ALLEGING breach, Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin chapter, Rafiu Balogun, has faulted the signing into law by the Kwara State House of Assembly "Signage and Advertisement Agency Bill" in the state, stating that the sector should have been the exclusive duty of the councils.

The bill is now coded, "Kwara State Signage and Advertisement Agency Law NO. 5".

But Balogun said the state NBA would be awaiting the outcome of litigation on the similar issue initiated in Lagos State before making a final decision on it. The matter in question, he said, had been decided in favour of the state at the Court of Appeal level, adding "until the Supreme Court rules, we can't be talking of the precedence on it."

He spoke on Tuesday at the forum of Kwara State Coalition of Business and Professional Associations (KWACOBPA) in Ilorin.

According to him, "our view as the local NBA ab-initio on the issue of the Signage Bill during the public hearing was that the House of Assembly could not pass it into law. We believe that it should be the right of the councils to do that. But in spite of our position, they passed the bill into law.

"We can't go to court to challenge it because it is not a constitutional issue. But an individual could have done that. We heard, however, that the Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of the House in Lagos State on the same issue. But we are anxiously awaiting the decision of the apex court on the issue."

Giving a keynote address at the forum, Mr. Tunde Oyawoye said the kernel of the objective of the KWACOBPA was to make it an effective voice of business and professional associations in Kwara State by advocating for a business-friendly environment and promoting the best business practices for sustainable progress of the state.

Oyawoye said the coalition intended to achieve its objective by improving the quality and frequency of public-private dialogue towards resolving issues that are negatively impacting on businesses in Kwara State.