APCON chairmanship: Will government amend Council Act to have its way
There is whispering and ‘wait and see’ posture in Nigeria’s advertising industry on whether last year’s appointment of new chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), who sources said was not a fellow of the Council, was a deliberate move or a mistake by the government.
Ten months after the appointment, stakeholders are still waiting for a new chairman to be inaugurated. Industry sources linked this development to a last minute reminder to the government of the law setting up the Council.
Section 2 sub-section 1 of the 1988 Act setting up the Council stipulates that the Council shall consist of a chairman who shall be a distinguished fellow of the profession to be appointed by the President.
It is not immediately ascertained why government made the appointment of who is said to be a non-fellow of advertising profession and outside the list of fellows submitted to it, but there was debate last year on the rightfulness of a practitioner being a regulator in the industry in which he or she practices.
On implications of operator as regulator, an advertising stakeholder says it promotes conflict of interest, “as they say in the legal realm, you cannot be the judge and plaintiff at the same time.” It could be argued that in the case of APCON, it has had operators as regulators in the past, but the question became pronounced following the introduction of controversial advertising reform.
Nevertheless, the appointment of APCON chairmanship has followed the Council Act of “Appointing a distinguished fellow of the profession,” but industry analysts say this breeds conflict of interest. It is believed that the industry should take a lesson from the crisis last year and prepare the industry for future occurrence. “So, let’s separate Paul from Barnabas once and for all, and in the interest of all,” the source says.
A media report quoted a commentator, Osagie Christian Aburime as saying that appointing an operator as a regulator is an error, “We cannot continue to progress in error. Whether you accept it or not, it is wrong for a player in industry to be at the same time a regulator of the same industry, no matter the position, whether executive or non-executive.”
Is government move to appoint an individual considered a non-fellow of advertising a deliberate move? If it is, then government may forward to the National Assembly the amendment bill of the APCON Act to allow it accommodate its wish, which is perhaps to save the advertising industry the troubles of having a regulator as operator.
The APCON council had at the expiration of the tenure of Lolu Akinwunmi on September 27, last year, as chairman of the Council, submitted six names who are fellows of the profession to the minister of information, the supervising ministry from which to pick one person to serve as chairman.
Since then, there has been lobby on different interests on the appointment, while the government keeps the industry waiting. As of today, it is still a waiting stance on government thinking.
By: Daniel Obi