Information minister: APCON council, stricter legislation top stakeholders’ demands

The assumption and resumption of the newly-appointed ministers at their different duty posts, last week, no doubt, elicited some sigh of relief from many Nigerians. Prior to their resumption, many Nigerians  had expressed their reservations over the  long delay by President Muhammadu Buhari in releasing his list of ministerial appointees, almost three months, after being sworn in for the second term in office.

Interestingly, one sector that is yet to catch the relief ‘bug’ is the nation’s integrated marketing communications industry.  And the situation agitations, apprehension and suspense in the industry might persist till the returnee minister , Alhaji Lai Mohammed, whose ministry, the Ministry of Information, oversees the affairs of the industry, hearkens to  some of the  ‘prayers’ of these stakeholders.

For instance, a cross section of  industry stakeholders, who spoke with Brands & Marketing on their expectations and those of the industry, from the minister, would want the  ‘ghost’ of non-constitution of the council of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), which had been hunting the industry for the past few years, be permanently laid to rest.

The apex regulatory agency in the industry has been without a council for years, since Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi served out his term in March 2015, after four years and seven months in the saddle, as the chairman of the agency.

Since then, efforts at appointing a successor, by the Ministry, had always thrown up controversies.

For instance, since his dissolution of a properly-constituted council of the agency, led by Mr. Ufot Udeme, in 2015,  on resumption of office in 2015, Alhaji Lai Mohammed attempts  at reconstituting the agency’s council, throughout his first term, had always proved abortive.

Interestingly, stakeholders believe not having such council in place  has been a huge hindrance to the realization of the innate potential of  this multi-billion naira industry.

One of the glaring inadequacies this has caused the industry, they argue,  is lack of that willpower to properly regulate the industry and put it in its rightful place.

A media executive and publisher of the Marketing Edge, a frontline brands and marketing journal in Nigeria,  Mr. John Ajayi, believes the issue of the APCON council should be of utmost priority to the returnee minister.

While congratulating the minister for being deemed worthy of the portfolio, again, the Marketing Edge boss however argued that the ‘second coming’ provided the minister the opportunity to right the wrongs of the past, and complete the tasks left undone in his first term. One of such tasks, he stated,  is the constitution of the council of the apex regulatory body.

“The major thing for the minister should be the immediate constitution of the APCON council. This is very pivotal and very primary to the heart and soul of the industry.

“The minister should be congratulated  for his re-appointment and  his re-assignment to the same beat.It  shows the level of confidence the  president reposed in him.  I, therefore, think that he should be bold enough to  meet Mr. President and tell him the implications of the non-constitution of APCON council,” he stated.

Ajayi believes the implications of the agency, not having a governing council, are very grave for the industry. One of such dangers, he stated,  is the risk it poses to the  health of  the Nigerian consumer.

“The delay in constituting a council for APCON poses grave danger to the industry. For instance,  it affects the health of the Nigerian consumer ; since it is advertently or inadvertently depriving the Nigerian consumer and populace , the opportunity of a regulatory agency to check the quality of advert promotions  for some products they consume.

“Today there is no APCON council there is no agency to monitor or check the activities of those who bring in goods and those involved in promotion of goods.

“Unfortunately,  in the course of such  promotions some members of the public are made to buy products that are injurious to their health, just because they found their promos attractive,” he stated.

Mr. Emma Ajufo, the newly-elected president of the Outdoor Advertising Agency of Nigeria (OAAN), also shares the same sentiment.

For him,  the immediate task of the minister should be a council for APCON; since the agency is too big to be left for so long without a council.

“It’s important that we congratulate him because for him to have come back, it means that the president has seen some good things in him, and the reward for hard-work is more hard-work.

“But I feel this is an opportunity for him to look at our industry and give it a council, because if we don’t have a council, we can’t do much in the advertising industry. And you know a lot of things are happening that the council would have given direction to.

“For instance, the nude screening, witnessed not too long ago in Lekki is something that APCON would have  given a serious pronouncement to, if a council had been in place. I think that all the sectoral heads should come together and do something about this,” the OAAN boss stated.

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Mr. John Ehiguese, Managing Director, Mediacraft Associates Ltd and president, Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria  (PRCAN) , would not see any reason for the delay in constituting a council, since the law is unambiguous over this.

“If the law says APCON should be governed by a council, then it stands to reason that that should be done. I hope the minister will consider it as something important so that the advertising industry can flourish as it should,” he added.

Ehiguese also has some words of advice for the incumbent government. There is the need to be more forthcoming and transparent in communicating its policies and programmes.

“Government should be more forthcoming and transparent  in the communication of its policies and programmes, because when there is communication flow, you have less of rumours,” he added.

Interestingly, a practitioner, who would not want his name in print, believes the need for APCON to have a council is becoming increasingly imperative.

“The fact remains that other regulatory agencies, especially relevant regulatory agencies in some states have continued to take advantage of this to exploit operators in the industry.

“My strong belief is that if APCON had been active, some of the challenges being faced by practitioners, especially those at the outdoor sub-sector of the industry, would have been mitigated; since practitioners would have a place to run to,” the practitioner argued.

But as stakeholders continue to push these key issues, bedeviling the industry to the front burner, the question on the lips of many is when the federal government, through its information ministry,  would  heed the call of the industry.

No doubt, these stakeholders are not unaware of the enormous task, and  they’ve vowed the  strategy, this time, would  be different.

“We’ll ensure that the industry speak with one voice. I think the time for rhetoric is over. What we’ll do in the next few days to let the minister see the wisdom in acting on these requests and acting fast too,” assured the practitioner.

Soothing, no doubt, but not a few believe that the industry would have to move beyond assurances and rhetorics, and  ensure that concrete steps are actually put in place to get the ears of the minister as he settles down in office, for his second term.