The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has announced that, under the new law, the regulatory agency is now mandated to register all forms of business affiliations, combinations and mergers in the advertising industry as part of efforts to enforce ethical practices in the industry.
Director- general, ARCON, Olalekan Fadolapo, made this disclosure on a Radio programme, “Brands & You” where he addressed salient issues in the advertising practice and how the new law is positioned to tackle these concerns.
While stating that hitherto, business combinations and affiliations were outside its jurisdiction, the director general noted that, with the new law, the regulatory agency is now saddled with the responsibility of registering all forms of affiliations within the industry.
“Investments, merger, acquisition and business combination were completely out of the remit of APCON so you cannot say this is what is happening to this particular agency but with the new law, all business combinations are to be registered by ARCON. Meaning that we are now going to have a register of all business affiliations so that we can know the level of investment is in a particular agency.
“You cannot just go into the sector or bring an investor into the sector without due process. The law now gives us the power to audit and ensure that the integrity of the contract is in the best interest of our own economy and aligns with best practices,” he said.
Commenting on the recent ban of foreign models and voice-over artistes, the DG reiterated that regulation is in the best interest of the advertising industry and the country as it will foster the growth of local talents, micro service providers within the industry especially small and medium enterprises.
“We don’t want a situation where globalisation will turn into a loss. In 1972 the federal government promulgated indigenous degree to give ownership of some particular sector, SMEs particularly to Nigerians.
“There is something unique about agency business. Agency business resonates with the people. It is a cultural and religious thing. At this junction, we are doing cost benefit analysis of globalisation Vis-à-Vis localisation and how it will affect our economy.
“The government cannot fold its hands. We are complaining of unemployment and we have seen that this sector can provide jobs for our youths. We need to create an enabling environment to promote ethical practices,” he said.
The advertising regulator, who maintained that the reforms introduced in the industry are geared towards repositioning the industry for growth, urged all stakeholders to support the new initiatives as it will be beneficial to all.
