The Director-General of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, has said the Council will from December 5 commence enforcement of sanctions against any member that permits the publication of harmful and injurious information to the public.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, during the National Advertising Conference, Fadolapo said the Council is repositioning in order to combat challenges affecting the industry, and then contribute to the growth of the economy.
According to him, the theme for this year, “Marketing communications industry: “New trends, challenges and prospects”, cannot be better because the industry is threatened.
He said, “With regards to moderating foul language by politicians, the code of advertising is there. If you check our recent release, by 5th of December, we are starting enforcement on all political advertisement campaigns in Nigeria. Once we start enforcement, any advertisement that is not approved by the Council, and in line with the code of advertising, any stakeholder involved in the publication or exposure of that material will be sanctioned and prosecuted”.
Also speaking, the Chairman Senate Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, Hon. Olusegun Odebunmi, said the National Assembly will continue to give legal backing to the Council, advising stakeholders to sanitise the Council and make it to be the envy of other professions.
“In the next few months, people will see APCON in a new dimension as the members have been empowered to perform their duty accordingly. Members should protect the industry so that in years to come, it will be the envy of other professions and everyone will be rushing to belong or identify with the profession”, he said.
