The Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) has strongly condemned the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) for allegedly issuing summons to CEOs of reputable Nigerian brands to face an Advertising Offences tribunal over alleged infractions.

In a press statement issued and signed by its Executive Council, ADVAN described this as “a huge embarrassment and humiliation of law-abiding corporate entities” that has caused a “total loss of trust” in ARCON as an institution.

The summons, which ADVAN says carry potential fines of up to N1 million per infraction, have been issued to multinationals, indigenous conglomerates and various businesses that ADVAN says “serve as the backbone of the Nigerian economy.” While vehemently opposing what it terms the “harassment and threats of criminal trials” to the CEOs, ADVAN stated that it is “antithetical to the reforms being proposed by the Federal Government through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council on Ease of Doing Business (PEBEC).”
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In the statement, ADVAN raised questions about ARCON’s regulation of digital advertising, arguing “digital advertising cannot be regulated as traditional advertising.” It asked for clarity on issues like what constitutes online advertising, whether companies’ websites and social media posts qualify as ads, and the stakeholder engagement process.

ADVAN urged ARCON to abandon its “regime of arbitrary policy initiatives” that is “pushing a once buoyant and collaborative industry into chaos.” It called for “critical stakeholder dialogue and engagement to foster renewed hope and support for the industry” during Nigeria’s current economic turmoil.

The advertisers’ body has, in a related vein, called for dialogue in tackling the issues facing the industry. “It is time for ARCON to pull the reins on its regime of arbitrary policy initiatives, that is pushing a once buoyant and collaborative industry into chaos and embark on critical stakeholder dialogue and engagement to foster renewed hope and support for the industry.

Tracing the genesis of the issue it has with ARCON, the advertising body noted, “the journey of the most turbulent and divisive times in the Nigerian Marketing Communications Industry started in 2021 with the launch of the Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP) by the then Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), now he Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

“APCON had disclosed that AISOP will provide minimum standard in terms of commercial activities of agencies, advertisers, media houses, advertising services providers and stakeholders, in matters relating to the business of advertising and related areas of marketing communications in Nigeria. However, what APCON claimed to be an Industry Standard of Practice was actually a document on payment and engagement terms, which sought to unconstitutionally regulate contractual relations between private entities (Advertisers and their agencies). ADVAN being a body founded to provide an organised forum for advertisers to express their views and influence developmental changes in Nigerian marketing communications scene, had expressed its concerns about AISOP, particularly its unconstitutional attempt to infringe on the rights of private entities to determine their contractual terms,” the statement read.

It went on to add, “It is worthy to note that while the Leadership of ARCON has claimed that it invited all critical stakeholders to deliberate on the AISOP, the truth is that the ADVAN has clearly stated on several occasions, both in private with the Registrar of APCON Dr Lekan Fadolapo, and in many public fora, that not a single contribution presented by ADVAN was included in the AISOP.

“The new law has several provisions that are clearly unconstitutional, and has caused great concern for the industry. A major item that has stood out for stakeholders is that ARCON is now allowed set up a tribunal that would hold ‘trials’ for any persons or organization that contravened the provisions of the ARCON law.

“This is an extremely concerning development, because Nigeria as a democratic entity has clear separation of powers between the different arms of government. A regulatory body for advertising cannot set up a tribunal with powers to hear, try, deliver judgment and sentence, as such is clearly a violation of the constitution of the nation. ARCON cannot constitutionally act as both the prosecutor and the judge in relation to matters which they have by themselves, labelled as advertising offences. The tribunal constituted by ARCON is merely an appendage of ARCON and is propagating the agenda of ARCON.