By Bianca Iboma-Emefu
The Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) and the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) are closing ranks and harping on critical stakeholder dialogue and engagement to foster industry growth.
The crux of the stakeholder engagement is on industry regulations and how they affect advertising practices in Nigeria.
“ARCON plays a crucial role in regulating advertising practices in the country, ensuring ethical standards are maintained and consumer interests are protected. By engaging in a dialogue with stakeholders, ADVAN aims to ensure that the regulations are effective and responsive to the changing landscape of the advertising industry. In a statement issued by executive council members, ADVAN denied that it made contributions to the Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP) midwifed by the then Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), now ARCON.
According to ADVAN, “It is worthy to note that while the leadership of APCON, now ARCON claimed that it invited all critical stakeholders to deliberate on the AISOP: “The truth is ADVAN has clearly stated on several occasions, both in private with the Registrar of APCON Dr Lekan Fadolapo and in many public fora, that not a single contribution presented by ADVAN was included in the AISOP.
ADVAN maintained, “The new law has several provisions that are unconstitutional and has caused great concern for the industry. “A major item that has stood out for stakeholders is that ARCON is now allowed to set up a tribunal that would hold ‘trials’ for any persons or organization that contravened the provisions of the ARCON law. This is an extremely concerning development because Nigeria as a democratic entity has a clear separation of powers between the different arms of government.
“A regulatory body for advertising cannot set up a tribunal with powers to hear, try, deliver judgment and sentence, as such is a violation of the constitution of the nation. ARCON cannot constitutionally act as both the prosecutor and the judge about matters that they have by themselves, labelled as advertising offences. The tribunal constituted by ARCON is merely an appendage of ARCON and is propagating the agenda of ARCON.
“In January 2024, ARCON issued notices to law-abiding organizations in Nigeria on various unclear charges of infractions, with fines up to N1 million per infraction. It is critical to note that these organizations include multinationals, Indigenous conglomerates and various levels of businesses, that serve as the backbone of the Nigerian economy.
ARCON has now issued notices to the CEOs of these organizations to face the ARCON ‘Tribunal’ on various claims of infractions.
“ADVAN vehemently opposes the harassment of her members (which are corporate entities that utilize advertising and marketing to promote their goods and services). These invitations to CEOs of reputable Nigerian brands, to stand ‘trial’ are a huge embarrassment and humiliation of law-abiding corporate entities, and have caused a total loss of trust for ARCON as an institution.
“The harassment and threats of criminal trials to CEOs of both local and multi-nationals is antithetical to the reforms being proposed by the Federal Government through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council on Ease of Doing Business (PEBEC), and the need to remove all forms of bottlenecks in driving the Nigerian economy.
“ADVAN members hereby speak unequivocally against this travesty called ARCON Regulation, as a continuance of this line of action will sabotage all forms of viable activities in the industry.
Stakeholders such as advertisers, agencies, media owners, and consumers are encouraged to participate in this dialogue to provide input and feedback on the current regulations. This will help ARCON and ADVAN to make informed decisions on future policy changes that will benefit the industry as a whole.
We encourage all stakeholders to join the conversation and help shape the future of advertising practices in Nigeria. Together, we can create a more transparent, ethical, and consumer-friendly advertising industry. Let’s work together to make a positive impact on the advertising landscape in Nigeria.
“Regulation should be instrumental to an enabling environment where stakeholders can count on fair, clearly articulated guidelines for business activities, and ADVAN members are very supportive of all fair regulations, which enable equitable business activities,” ADVAN stated.