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Dissolution of APCON Council may stall reforms

By BusinessNews Staff on August 23, 2015

The dissolution of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) along with government parastatls by President Muhammadu Buhari has once again thrown spanner in the works in the affairs of the advertising regulatory body. Just when the body seems to be getting out of the crises that had rocked the council following the imposition of non-professional in the person of Prince Ngozi Enioma as the APCON Chairman, by the federal government which got the advertising sectoral group kicking, with the functions of the council stalled for a long time.

With the appointment of Mr. Udeme Ufot, a well-respected industry egg head and Group Managing Director of SO&U, as the chairman of council, his colleagues in the advertising industry heaved a sigh of relief. With one of their own on the saddle, it was expected the business of regulation which had been put on the reverse gear in the last 18 months will start in earnest. Of utmost interest was the implementation of the long-awaited advertising reform.

Just when Udeme led council was about settling down for business, the dissolution of the council was announced to the chagrin of practitioners. Though a regulatory body, our correspondent learnt that APCON was wrongly listed as a parastatals of government under the administration of late Prof. Dora Akunyili, then information Minister. So when the government dissolved the board of government parastatal, the recently reconstituted APCON council was not spared. With this unfortunate development Udeme and his council had to take a French leave, at least for now.

When asked to comment on the issue, APCON Registrar, Alhaji Bello Kankaroffi, told our correspondent that the council was in touch with the federal government to do the right thing. “It was only in March (2015) that an executive council was put in place by the president. And I think this current government has to revalidate that tenure. We are not political. The chairman of APCON Council is a distinguished fellow of the council. So, government doesn’t know this and we need to explain to government our position so that this work is not truncated again for another two years. The new government has to realize that this is a professional body. I assure you that government will do something very soon. We are a law abiding citizen. We have written to government and I can assure you that very soon government would do something.”

One key issue that has been suffering since the impasse was the long awaited implementation of APCON Reform. The reform in itself had generated divergent opinions from among practitioners. While some had hailed the reform as the only way to wrestle the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) industry from the possible domination cum control by foreign practitioners from more advanced economies who throng Nigeria in droves occasioned by globalization and Nigeria becoming one of the fastest growing economies and the bride of foreign investors, some others had argued that doing so will close Nigerian advertising industry from gaining expertise and needed exposure to grow the industry to be able to meet globally accepted standards and therefore be able to compete.

Former APCON Chairman, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi whose regime berthed the reform was firm in his conviction that leaving the flanks of the communication industry open to foreign incursion will spell doom to Nigeria culture and security. However, Noah’s Ark managing Director, Mr. Lanre Adisa, was one of the strong critics of the awaited reform. At a forum in Lagos, Adisa punctured holes on the reform insisting that to be able to compete in a globalised world restrictions should be removed to allow exchange of expertise and ideas. He argued that the reform has failed to restore sanity that would enable agencies become more resourceful but rather created an isolationist industry that keeps international players at bay. To create such an enabler Adisa averred that Nigeria ad industry cannot operate in isolation of a globalized economy where it is supposed to lead Africa economically. Such a closed environment devoid of foreign participation he argued would deny admen the benefit of serious competition adding that like Brazil and India, Nigeria needs to engage the world on her own terms on a win-win basis for all players. To this end, he canvassed for an urgent review of APCON Reforms to enable create a competitive environment in a manner that protects the interest of Nigerians while encouraging the foreign partners to invest more in the industry and its people. We have seen this in other sectors of our economy, where Nigerian interests are protected while encouraging the foreign partners to take the game more serious.

But responding on why the reform has not taken full effect, Kankaroffi said “You journalists are very forgetful. You forgot that government appointed a political council which was not based on the rule of law and for eighteen months we didn’t have a council. There is nothing we can do at APCON Council statutorily without the committee being in place. It will be a wasteful of exercise. If you go to court you will win.”

Observers are waiting anxiously for the resolution of the current impasse brought about by the dissolution of the council. Only then would it be clear whether APCON has the political will to implement the long awaited reform.

[ThisDay]

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