Why ARCON, AAAN oppose bill for separate regulatory body for Out-of-Home advertising

Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON and Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN have issued separate statements vehemently opposing the the bill, seeking the establishment of a separate chartered institute to regulate the out-of-home advertising business in Nigeria.

The Bill before the National Assembly seeks to determine who is an outdoor advertising practitioner as well as licensed outdoor advertising organisation. The Bill also seeks to protect the investment, assets, and infrastructure of out-of-home advertising. It further seeks to regulate the aesthetics, structure and quality of out-of-home advertising.

Opposing the bill, ARCON in a statement signed by its DG, Lekan Fadolapo said If the Bill is passed into law, it will create another Federal Government agency that will co-exist with ARCON for the certification and determination of standard of knowledge and skills needed to practice out-of-home advertising.

This means the practitioners of out-of-home sector alone will be subjected to multiple certifications as professional and corporate practices.

ARCON also argues that “the regulation and control of all these and other specializations are currently provided for in the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2024 by virtue of section 8 of the Act. By passing this Bill, it will amount to duplication of duties and overlap of mandates as performing oversight functions by the two Federal Government agencies will cause major crisis in the industry”.

On its position, AAAN expressed its opposition to the bill. The association’s stance was made by its President, Lanre Adisa, during a public hearing on the bill entitled “Chartered Out-of-Home Media Practitioners of Nigeria” sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, held at the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

According to Adisa, in a statement, the advertising sector in Nigeria already operates under a comprehensive regulatory framework through the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), which provides oversight, ensures ethical standards, and harmonises practices across the industry.

Adisa posited that instead of duplicating the function of the apex regulatory body, ARCON, and other sectoral bodies in the marketing communication industry, the National Assembly should pass laws strengthening the existing framework to address any perceived gaps in either ARCON or OAAN.