The Supervising Minister of Information, Chief Edem Duke has called on advertising practitioners to commit themselves to socially responsible conduct in line with the need to safeguard the integrity of advertising communications and the well-being of those exposed to adverts. He made the call in Lagos while inaugurating the Sixth Governing Council of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
The Minister said the Governing Council being the custodian of professional and responsible conduct by institutions engaged in advertising in Nigeria, should strive to ensure strict adherence to ethical standards by advertisers.
Chief Duke said advertising must be anchored on truth, honesty, decency, legality and in conformity with Nigeria’s cultural values and national icons.
“I charge you today to apply yourself to the unwavering discharge of these responsibilities with the resolve to lift the standard of advertising practice in Nigeria and accord the profession the level of respectability it deserves,” he stated.
The Minister insisted that advertisements should be prepared with high sense of social responsibility, including the demand that on no account should the interest of consumers and the wider Nigerian society be compromised.
Chief Duke cited unethical behaviours, sharp practices and unbridled pursuit of money to the detriment of standards as some of the negative conducts plaguing the industry and added that “all the sectorial groups being regulated by APCON must play by the rules and work within the confines of the code you swore to uphold”.
The Minister decried the high indebtedness of advertisers to media establishments and said the issue of media debts had become a recurring decimal in the industry, which must be addressed to support a free and virile media in Nigeria.
“It is mandatory on APCON to encourage a much more serious adherence to responsibilities inherent in contracts with media houses and other groups,” he remarked.
Chief Edem Duke pledged the resolve of the government to sustain a conducive environment for advertising to thrive and also to encourage advertisers to involve themselves in social re-engineering and economic development programmes.
He equally reminded the advertisers on the need to take the lead in re-branding the country positively in order to launder the image of Nigeria across the globe.
The Minister extended a hand of partnership to the advertisers and said as stakeholders in the Re-branding Nigeria Project, the government would always appreciate their professional advice in that regard.
In her address, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan, recalled that a Council was earlier appointed for APCON without recourse to the laws that established the Council and that the beneficiaries of the ill-fated appointments took advantage of the situation to create unease in the advertising industry.
“Now that the proper Council has been appointed, all the tension and uncertainty to which the industry was subjected to have been doused. The industry can now forge ahead with a common resolve and under the leadership of the Council, which is being inaugurated today,” she stated.
