Delay in re-constituting APCON council stalling reforms, says AAAN

The dissolution of the APCON council in 2015 by the present government on the understanding that it is a parastatal of the government is still raging as the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN leadership kicks that the action is stalling further plans for the growth of the marketing communication industry.

As it was trying to settle down, the council led by Udeme Ufot, the managing director of SO & U was dissolved five months after it was constituted on March 26 last year. Prior to Udeme appointment APCON operated without a proper council for about 18 months.

APCON council was part of dissolution of government parastatals in July last year.

Assessing  the 6 months old dissolution, AAAN President Kelechi Nwosu believed that government may be in the process of reconstituting another council to drive the affairs of the over  N150 billion marketing communication industry but described any of such process as slow ‘which is affecting what we do”

“Imagine some council such as legal or medical professions going without any regulatory council. That is what we are going through right now, though there is regulator but no council to empower the officials working”

Kelechi who is stoutly behind the APCON 2013 reform that is protective of the industry and designed to stimulate development of local capital and bring sanity in to the industry, told BusinessDay recently that the reform has become stunted because the council has not been in place. “We need the council to be in place to continue with the reforms and these reforms are not about ownership of agencies but local development of management capital and work and licensing of agencies that will bring some sanity in to the industry”.

He considers it as an error that APCON is a parastatal of the government. “APCON should not be put as a parastatal and for us it is time we start thinking  to get APCON out of that challenge”

On national re-orientation to support the anti corruption efforts, Kelechi said the advertising association will support any move that supports branding effort of the country. “But we will prefer that such an effort will comprise marketing communication stakeholders who are proficient and knowledgeable about the rebranding or re-orientation strategy. We are offering to be part of that effort. We need a national reorientation campaign”, he said.

On the long awaited advertising academy, Kelechi promised that the school will hopefully kick off in March this year stating that AAAN is putting all its energy into it but said the body’s challenge is the get the necessary start off funds.

The AAAN president who also assessed the predicted tough challenges this year which he said will equally affect the marketing communication sector called on the government to put “quick fire and urgent plans to revamp the economy”. According to him what the nation needs are increased local production and higher productivity as basis that will grow the economy and strengthen the naira.

Daniel Obi