War of regulators: APCON, LASAA on collision course

A cold war seems to be brewing in the nation’s advertising industry, and this is not unconnected with the power tussle between the Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON),a body set up by the federal government to regulate advertising practice in the country and the Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency (LASAA), an agency in charge of outdoor advertising practice in the state, over issues that bother on regulation.

Established in 2006 to regulate and control outdoor advertising and signage displays in the state, not a few believe that LASAA had, in recent times, attempted to appropriate some of the statutory functions of APCON, in the areas of regulating communication contents in outdoor advertisement structures and signages, a move the apex regulatory body has however vowed to resist.

For instance,  not a few believe that while the laws establishing LASAA are crystal clear on issues pertaining to regulation and control of signages and outdoor structures in Lagos,  no aspect of that law however  confers on LASAA the absolute powers to regulate or control communication contents and messages on signages, structures or streetscape.

That responsibility strictly falls under the purview of APCON, the regulatory agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria.

In a chat with Brands & Marketing on the issue, a marketing communications expert, Mr Tunde Awomoolo, believes there should be no controversies regarding the functions of the two regulatory bodies.

According to him,  Decree No. 55 1988 establishing APCON, is quite unequivocal about the agency, saddled with the responsibilities of regulating and controlling advertising and advertisement businesses.

He added that the apex regulatory body had been able to diligently adhere strictly to these statutory responsibilities since its creation in 1990.

Curiously,  LASAA seems to be challenging these powers, of late. This the state regulatory agency had done by standing in the way of APCON in its attempt to ensure the communication materials on billboards in Lagos conform to good advertising practice.

Recently, APCON’s attempt at bringing sanity to the system and protect members of the public, from unwholesome advertising communications was said to have been resisted by the leadership of the state regulatory agency.

The leadership of LASAA was said to have insisted, albeit illegally, that the federal regulatory agency has been encroaching on its regulatory territory, a move the APCON leadership had since dismissed.

For instance, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of APCON, Alhaji Bello Garba Kankarofi attributed  the aggressive posturing of  the new headship of LASAA, Mr. Mobolaji Sanusi, to  his poor understanding and knowledge of APCON laws and regulations.

Kankarofi decried the latest action of the  LASAA boss whom he said had been holding his present position in deliberate contravention and abeyance of the Nigerian constitution setting up APCON, which requires a marketing communication professional for the LASAA job.

The APCON Registrar disclosed that  Part IV privileges of Registered persons and Offences by Unregistered Persons (Advertising Practitioners (Registration etc) Act C Cap 7 LFN 1990 (Act Cap A7 LFN 2004 insists on appointment that should not be held by an unregistered professional.

“The provisions of this Act specifically states that  no person, not being registered in accordance with this act, shall be entitled to hold any appointment in the public service of the federation or of a state in any public or private establishment, body or institution, if the holding of such appointment involves the performance by him in Nigeria of any act pertaining to the profession for gain,” he stated.

According to him, the Managing Director of LASAA, is an unregistered advertising professional as stated by this Act, and therefore not suitable to head the agency  he presently occupies, by virtue of being a public servant with salaries and emoluments.

He believes that  some other members of Sanusi’s management team equally runs foul of the law because they are not APCON certified.

The Registrar expressed dismay that the incumbent LASAA Chief Executive had not bothered to register with APCON,  in spite of the fact that all his predecessors actually did this while they occupying same office.