THE Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has said that self regulation of adverting has failed in the industry with the big stakeholders exploiting the weaker ones.
The apex regulatory body gave this explanation, in a statement issued in its reactions to some of the reasons given by the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN) for taking it to court over some of its reforms.
ADVAN had, few days ago, queried ARCON’s rights to legislate on contract and payments terms, among other issues, for stakeholders within the industry.
“Globally, payment terms are under private contractual terms or as best industry practice agreed by stakeholders within an Industry as a gentleman’s agreement, not as legislation,” the association had argued.
However, ARCON, in the statement, had stated that Payment Threshold framework and regulation varies from markets and industries, adding that, in an economy where self-regulation exists and works perfectly well, organizations within the system agree and sign off on payment threshold.
It therefore advised ADVAN members to further engage their advertisement agencies in the discussion of payment threshold, insisting the agreement must align with the maximum days set by the regulator, that is 45 days payment circle.
On whether the council has the power to demand access to financial records without a court order, or compel organizations to disclose private business matters, the apex regulatory body argued that every government agency with investigative power has a right of access to information to enable it to act accordingly, as provided in its Act and in line with the constitution.
“ADVAN is advised to check this with other government agencies that have investigative responsibilities and the powers.
In this case, the information being required by ARCON is information related to advertising, advertisement and marketing communications being ARCON’s primary remit,” the regulatory agency stated.
