The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has urged the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) to seek more innovative ways to spur growth and advance the industry.
Mohammed said this at the opening ceremony of the maiden Advertising Industry Colloquium (AIC) on Thursday in Lagos.
Represented by Mr Sunday Baba, Director, Public Communications, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Mohammed said that the ministry was pleased with the council and its stakeholders.
“The Federal Ministry of Information and Culture is pleased to work with the council and her stakeholders in advancing the course of the industry.
“And will be delighted to receive innovative ideas, suggestions and constructive criticisms based on the wealth of experience and valuable views.
“I encourage you to continuously initiate activities that will potentially propel the advertising and marketing communications industry.
“To achieve better positioning and improved value-delivery profitable to advertising practitioners as well as the nation in general,” Mohammed said.
He expressed gratitude to the Director-General of ARCON, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, the management and staff of the council.
The minister also thanked the AIC Committee chaired by Prof. Olatunji Rotimi for putting up the first advertising industry colloquium.
“It is, undeniably, a noble initiative that deserves every support and encouragement it needs to be sustained,” Mohammed said.
The minister said the convergence of the academia and core business practitioners would profitably motivate an industry like advertising and marketing communications,.
He added that the convergence would also motivate especially the young generation whose talents and skills were at the early stage mixing what was taught in preparation for practice and the actual practice holds.
He noted that the challenges could be audacious and the potential enormous.
The minister said that advertising had come a very long way in contributing and advancing the growth of Nigeria’s economy massively.
Mohammed said that the role of advertising in academics and in day-to-day business activities cannot be neglected or underestimated by any economy that genuinely seeks to develop and sustain the development of its economic progress.
“I am delighted to see the progress the council has been making to ensure that the advertising and marketing industry in Nigeria is ethically and professionally practised as it should be.
“The industry has recently witnessed series of reforms and other developmental strides aimed to keep it consistent with the dynamic demands of the sector.
“We noted the deficiencies in the now repealed Advertising Practitioners (Registration) Act which inhibited the erstwhile Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria from achieving its full potential in regulating the business and practice of advertising in Nigeria.
“The circumstances led to the diligent task of ensuring that the council is, through appropriate Act of the National Assembly, adequately empowered to carry out her functions,” Mohammed said
The minister said that the introduction of the industry Standard of Practice was one of the high points of the council.
He said the implementation of the policy was important to ensure that 75 percent cumulative local content was integrated on all advertisement, advertising and marketing communication materials with effect from Jan. 1, 2023, which would create a minimum of 500,000 jobs annually.
He added that the policy would save the country hundreds of millions of Naira in capital flight from the production of advertisement outside the country.
He expressed optimism that the colloquium would give factual insight to the peculiarities of the systems in the academic ecosphere.
