Stakeholders advocate collaboration for effective regulations
Stakeholders in the integrated marketing communications, as well as allied industry, have advocated collaboration among regulatory agencies and industry players for effective and efficient regulations. This call was made at the Advertisers Association of Nigeria’s (ADVAN) Industry Dialogue, 2022 in Lagos, recently.
The 2022 ADVAN Industry Dialogue, whose keynote speaker was Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, featured the theme: The Role of Government Regulations in the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria.
Other dignitaries who attended the event include Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Registrar/CEO, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), Mrs. Dozie-Nwapa, Deputy Director of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Mr. Osamede Uwubanmwen, President, ADVAN, Mr. Emmanuel Ajufo, President Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Mr. Tunji Adeyinka, President, Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN) and other related associations and regulatory agencies.
Speaking on the need for collaboration, Mrs. Oduwole said: “Our collaboration with the private sector has continued to make it possible for us to know where the shoe pinches, and creates a constant flow of ideas for pragmatic interventions.
“It is gratifying to note that in the last three decades since its establishment in 1992, with top 100 companies in Nigeria as 11 pages of the newspapers, has continued to attempt to articulate something more.
“It appeared that in addition to the known formal taxes, levies and charges, MSMEs bear multiple unquantified costs (both official and unofficial) associated with regulatory compliance from several government agencies, which, when taken cumulatively, significantly impact businesses’ bottom line, hindering their ability to plough back such revenue into productive ventures.”
She continued: “Thus in 2019, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) commissioned a pilot study around the formal and informal regulatory cost of compliance for MSMEs in Lagos and the FCT Abuja, with a view to identifying and targeting successful reforms towards boosting the productivity of these businesses, thereby fostering the creation of jobs for millions of Nigerians and an increased GDP.”
The Special Adviser to the President added: “Empirical evidence from the pilot survey confirmed earlier anecdotal feedback by showing that 51% of MSMEs paid 12 unofficial fees for regulatory services. The survey equally revealed that actual compliance cost was higher than official stated costs, while process timelines overshot timelines published. It was also established that there is a huge communication gap between regulators and MSMEs.”
Speaking directly to the integrated marketing communication industry, Mrs. Oduwole stated: “Bringing this all home to today’s dialogue by our assessment, the advertising industry in Nigeria is regulated by a combination of federal laws, state and possibly local government laws, with other subsidiary legislations including regulations and guidelines. There are at least five regulatory agencies involved in regulating advertising.
“Foremost among them is APCON, including National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) NAFDAC, Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA), and possibly others.
“I have recently been intimated of some specific and more general regulatory challenges that ADVAN members are currently experiencing, including delays in obtaining regulatory approvals from some agencies, and perhaps even more disturbing to us at the PEBEC is the interference of regulatory interference in day-to-day operations by the imposition of 18 to deliver the reforms that will enable your businesses to thrive,” she said.
Expressing optimism over the dialogue, she said: “I am confident that this dialogue will contribute significantly to smoothening any rough edges in the relationship between regulators and the advertising community as a whole going forward.”
Dr. Fadolapo, the Registrar of APCON, during the panel discussion, explained that the new Advertising Standard of Practice (AISOP) was a means to an end, which he noted was to promote fairness and equity in the Industry.
Mrs. Dozie-Nwapa, Deputy Director of NAFDAC who represented the DG, stated that NAFDAC regulatory policies were to ensure that the advertisement messages were in conformity with the actual features of the products.
Responding on behalf of Advertisers was Mr. O’Tega Ogra, An Executive Council Member of ADVAN, as well as the Group Head, Brands and Corporate Communications BUA Group. She said: “No advertiser was against regulation, but regulations should facilitate business, and regulators should give the opportunity for decent equitable partnerships with stakeholders.”
Also in attendance were representatives from LASAA, the National Economic Summit Group, Lagos State Ministry of Trade and Commerce, as well as other key agencies.
The ADVAN President, Mr. Uwubanmwen, in his closing remark thanked the keynote speaker for honouring the Association’s invitation to speak on the burning issue, as well as other government regulatory agencies and head of advertising sectoral groups who were present.
He said that the dialogue was not solely on APCON’s recently promulgated AISOP, but to find a common ground for members of ADVAN to operate in a harmonious environment.
“We are not here to discuss AISOP. ADVAN members have multiple regulators; therefore, APCON cannot be the only headache we have. We are regulated by NAFDAC, SON, APCON, so we have invited experts in the ease of doing business to share knowledge with us,” he said.
ADVAN is the only trade association in Nigeria representing top organisations and multinationals that makes use of advertising to promote their goods and services. ADVAN is a strong voice of 100 of the biggest organizations in Nigeria, representing over 200 brands with an annual marketing spend of well over N200 Billion.
ADVAN is a member and on the Executive Council of the World Federation of Advertisers, a body of global brands and marketing associations in over 60 countries of the world.
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