APCON Registrar tasks stakeholders on reform compliance, reiterates benefits to industry
By Oghale Mafuru
The Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Dr. Lekan Fadolapo has charged all stakeholders in the advertising industry to comply with the set guidelines stipulated in the recently instituted Advertising Industry standard of Practice (AISOP) as it is geared towards repositioning the industry for inclusiveness and growth.
The Registrar, who gave this charge in an interview with MARKETING EDGE, disapproved of any action or statement that negates the provisions of the new guidelines, noting that AISOP will be beneficial to all and sundry in the advertising industry and the country at large.
While stating that the industry has witnessed an accelerated shift in advertising spend from traditional to digital media, the APCON umpire said the agency, in a bid to re-organize the business of advertising practice in the country, instituted the new framework to address critical issues that were stifling the growth of the industry.
According to the regulator, AISOP, which is in line with the Federal Government policy focused on stimulating economic growth, was instituted after due consultations with all stakeholders and does not contravene any section of the constitution.
In his words: “We look at this critically and objectively. Does AISOP align with the federal government policy? The answer is yes. There was a directive from the federal government to all the ministries, departments and agencies to come up with policies that are going to strengthen the economy, post-COVID. Check the recent executive orders signed by the government’s Executive Order NO. 10. It has to do with encouraging local productions, engaging local engineers and local experts, encouraging the development of each sector using the local facilities.
“Now the second thing is that, did AISOP breach any part of the constitution? The answer is no. Then, if you look at it in the best interest of the public, is it in their best interest? Does it promote equity and fairness? The answer is yes.”
Speaking further, Dr. Fadolapo stated that the new guideline is not targeted at anybody but intended to address unethical practices in the business of advertising in the country.
“AISOP is just to promote equity, to ensure that unethical practices in the industry are minimized to the barest minimum and to ensure that there is fairness in the trade. It is not targeted at anybody. It is targeted at growing the advertising industry in Nigeria. I will not be surprised that there are push backs, but as a regulator, it will continue to engage with all the sectoral groups.”
Commenting on how the agency had been transformed since the agency’s helmsman mounted the saddle, he said the regulatory body has made steady but remarkable progress.
“We have made steady progress in the last 12 months. When I assumed duty as the 4th Registrar, APCON had fifteen offices nationwide. The last time enforcement was carried out in Bayelsa State was like three years ago. The last time enforcement was carried out in Delta State was like two three years ago, likewise Abeokuta. So in the last 12 months, what we did was to create a new presence in all the states. And we have opened 16 new offices across the nation.
“Out of that 16, what we did was to first unbundle Lagos State. Lagos is a very huge market and without mincing words, it is responsible for not less than 40% of the entire spend, if not more, of the entire country. So we unbundled Lagos following the line of Igbile, Lagos Island, Epe, and Ikeja. We created 6 new offices within Lagos. Then we expanded our operations in all those states that we consider strategic to the advertising business. We have offices in Bayelsa, Akure, Abeokuta, Delta, Calabar and more.In the last 12 months, we have pushed the frontier to ensure that we have our presence in additional states,” Dr. Fadolapo explained.
While highlighting some of his accomplishments, the regulator said the agency has embraced digitalization to improve its operations. He said: “When I assumed duty, the operation of APCON was built around analog; it meant that if anything happened the entire system would be down. In the last 12 months, it has been a very tedious journey for us. We have not really been able to achieve what we have set out to, but we have been able to move around our operation. We have been able to start the process of moving our operations from analog to digital. Within the next few months, all things being equal, practitioners will be able to access their profile online.”
He urged all stakeholders to continue to support APCON to build on existing frameworks aimed at accelerating the growth of the industry.
RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
Comment
No comments found.