Media debt: Duke tasks Ad bodies to stick to contract agreements with media
Edem Duke, the supervising minister of Information, who believes that media debt is an impediment to achieving a virile media has mandated Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON to ensure that all sectoral group regulated by the council stick to the contracts with media houses and other groups.
In 2007, APCON attempted to identify the volume of media debt which was calculated at about N90 million, even when many media houses did not come forward to lay open the debts. The advertising apex body had established APCON Special Committee on Media Debt Issues (ASCOMDI), headed by Chris Doghudje which said the amount did not represent the debt owed media between 2007 till 2010.
But the minister asked about “ten years after your 2007 summit to address nagging issues of industry debts and adoption of global best practices, can we lay a strong claim to helping sustain a virile media”
Duke who was speaking while inaugurating the sixth APCON council led by Udeme Ufot, the CEO of SO& U said resolving the media debt is significant especially as advertising industry prides itself as being the greatest supporter of a free and virile media.
He was worried that the previous efforts to evolve and nurture worthwhile respect for the advertising profession have been diluted by infractions in the way the practitioners have carried on.
“We can start today to do things differently. We can resolve to build and sustain a profession where our attachment to integrity and credibility should improve the public perception of the profession and the industry. That will be the way to glorious and respectable future for the country”
He also told the 20-member council and advertising practitioners that government expects to see their greater involvement in its social re-engineering and economic developmental programmes. He particularly charged them, as image management experts to strive to re-brand Nigeria appropriately. “This is a public service that should concern all of us because the consequences of Nigeria’s negative image arising from the actions of a few bad eggs at home and abroad affect all of us”
In his acceptance speech, the chairman of the council, Udeme Ufot urged government to continue to see APCON more as a regulator that it is, and therefore empower and adequately fund the body to perform its statutory duties effectively.
Udeme who emerged from over 84 fellows in the advertising profession said there is need to strengthen capacity of APCON through adequate legal backing for the advertising Practitioners Investigation Panel (APIP) and the Advertising Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (APDC).
Earlier the immediate past chairman of the council, Lolu Akinwunmi listed the achievements of the 5th council to include review of the 4th advertising code, various seminars and workshops, membership drive, collaboration with NAFDAC and other achievements which assisted to lift the standard of the profession.
He said with the gazetting of the 5th Code and setting up of the main machineries for the implementation of the licensing regime, APCON has a major role to play in ensuring that there is a faithful adherence to what the law says.
Akinwunmi believed that the new regime is not in place to stop foreign players or discourage them. “On the other hand, the purpose is to ensure that adequate and proper regulations are in place to ensure that this sector operates professionally”
Daniel Obi