Advertising Regulation Suffers as APCON Council Remains in Limbo

Raheem Akingbolu

Players in the nation’s marketing communications industry are confused over the federal government’s seeming nonchalant attitude towards the re-constitution of the governing council of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).

The council has been without a constituted board for over three years and this is said to be affecting the growth of the multi-billion-naira industry as many advertising practitioners and operators in other sectoral bodies are showing reluctance in fulfilling their professional responsibilities.

Between 2014 and now, the leadership of various sectoral bodies had explored many opportunities, including visiting the state house and the office of the Minister of Information and Culture, to impress it on the federal government on the importance of the council, but nothing has been achieved in this regard.

As the highest regulatory body in the advertising industry, operations are believed to have become weak in the last three years because of lack of constituted authority to sit down and take decisions on sundry issues.

In 2014, the administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, appointed a non-practitioner as APCON Chairman and the appointment was rejected by stakeholders in the industry as an affront.

President Jonathan, had immediately reversed the appointment and constituted another one headed by the Group CEO of the SO&U, Mr. Udeme Ufot.

Despite the acceptability of the Ufot led council, it was dissolved again alongside other parastatals’ boards in July 2015. As a result of the strategic importance of the council to the effective operation of APCON, pressures were mounted on the Buhari administration to quickly reconstitute the board, but nothing was done until December last year when another set of non-advertising and marketing practitioners were again appointed into the board.

Those appointed then were Hon. Jacob Sunday (Chairman), Chief Dayo Abatan, Aloysius Okafor, Sani Tulu, Akor Sunday, Ismaila Umar Sifawa and Murtala Adamu Atiku

The appointment was said to have run contrary to the APCON law which demands that council members must be fellows of the regulatory body. The Nigerian Advertising Laws, Rules and Regulations Act 55 of 1988 (as amended), states that a chairman, who should be appointed by the President, shall be a distinguished fellow of the profession.

Immediately the announcement was made, practitioners in the country were quick to condemn, in strong terms, the alleged appointment of non-advertising and marketing practitioners into the council and move ahead to advocate autonomy for APCON.

Top practitioners had stated that the exercise was in clear breach of the Act setting up the institution, insisting that government should not be seen to be flouting the constitution of the country.

The federal government was believed to have goofed for the third consecutive times for announcing names of politicians and non-advertising professionals as nominees for the yet to be reconstituted council which had been delayed for over two years now.
Speaking to THISDAY on the development during the week, the President Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, reiterated the need for advertisers to join other stakeholders to clamour for APCON to be properly instituted.

Ani-Mumuney, who said it was embarrassing for APCON to remain like orphan for over three years said stakeholders would continue to take every opportunity to engage directly, indirectly with the powers that be to give APCON a befitting council.

She added: “Of recent, as a body we all came together, driven by Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria, (MIPAN), Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria and of course ADVAN. We wrote a communiqué which was sent to the Minister of Information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, where we made our request quite clear.

“We demanded for a proper constitution, we requested for people with industry knowledge and experience. Towards the end of last year, some announcements were made. We were jubilating and celebrating that it looked like we had made progress but again we felt that people who were nominated were not industry practitioners and as we all know that will not happen in a medical profession.
“It will not happen in the legal profession, why will it happen in advertising so; we were quite clear, that we felt that we will be doing ourselves a de-service and we will be doing the nation a de-service, if we do not bring expert hands, if we do not ensure that we call to question some of the nomination on there.

“Every board needs diversity; we recognise that strong boards are boards that include diversity but, professionalism and expert knowledge. It is our belief that a knowledgeable board is critical so, we are insisting that we want to see practitioners and we have enough of them, fully qualified, we mentioned Mr. Udeme Ufot and others,”

Ani-Mumuney, who is also the Head of Marketing & Corporate Communications and General Manager at First Bank of Nigeria Ltd, pointed out that these were people who have spent years in the industry and therefore, have gathered knowledge that should not be thrown away but be used to strengthen the industry.
Also speaking on the same issue, the Secretary General of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Femi Ogala, said the absence of the council was causing a lot of disservice to the industry.

“Marketing Communication Practice without APCON council is like a vehicle without a driver. It affects all stakeholders; the consumer, the advertiser and the practitioner. Besides, there are several committees like the disciplinary committee that have not been constituted because there is no council to sit for their approval,” he said.

However, practitioners became confuse recently over the issue, when the immediate past Registrar of APCON; Alhaji Garba Kankarofi, said neither the Minster of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed nor himself could do anything to change the status quo.
Kankarofi had told THISDAY in Lagos that the prerogative of setting up a new APCON Council lies within the jurisdiction of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He noted that the regulatory body had written several letters to the President, explaining the importance of the council and why it should be set up.