The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) has issued a strong rebuttal against the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), accusing the advertisers’ group of orchestrating a calculated media campaign to frustrate ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s advertising industry.
In a statement dated February 23 and signed by its Director-General, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, ARCON described ADVAN’s recent open letter to President Bola Tinubu as a deliberate attempt to derail regulatory changes tied to the Federal Government’s Nigeria First Policy and new payment guidelines within the sector.
The Council said it rejected “every major claim” in the letter, including allegations that its policies have caused a decline in advertising expenditure, forced investors out of the country and imposed excessive regulations on operators.
ARCON revealed that ADVAN has filed multiple suits at the Federal High Court challenging its statutory authority while simultaneously pursuing the same issues in the media.
“If a case is sub judice, why take it to the media?” the Council queried, arguing that ADVAN’s actions suggest a strategy of applying public pressure rather than engaging through established regulatory channels.
One of the central claims in ADVAN’s letter was that its members account for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s advertising spend, which the association estimated at more than N800 billion annually. The figure was used to justify its appeal for presidential intervention.
ARCON dismissed the claim as “an outright fabrication.”
According to the regulator, ADVAN members contribute less than 10 per cent of the industry’s total advertising spend. It further alleged that the association’s membership has declined in recent times due to what it described as poor leadership.
In a pointed remark, ARCON referenced ADVAN President, Mr. Osamede Uwubanmwen, asserting that his employer “cannot boast of ₦1 million in annual advertising spend.” The Council challenged ADVAN to publish its current membership list and provide verifiable data on members’ advertising outlays.
ADVAN had also alleged that ARCON’s reforms were responsible for shrinking advertising investments and prompting companies to exit Nigeria. In response, the regulator demanded concrete evidence to support the claims.
“ADVAN is challenged to provide verified data on the alleged decline in advertising spend as well as publish the names of organisations that have exited Nigeria because of the industry reforms,” the statement said.
ARCON maintained that available industry data contradicts ADVAN’s narrative. The Council disclosed that it worked with Heads of Advertising Sectoral Groups to commission PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct an independent assessment of advertising expenditure and its contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.
According to ARCON, the PwC report indicated growth rather than contraction and was publicly presented to stakeholders. The Council challenged ADVAN to refute the findings with credible data or commission its own independent review and publish the results.
Another flashpoint in the dispute is a performance assessment reportedly conducted by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), which rated ARCON at three per cent.
ARCON rejected the score, describing it as biased and part of a coordinated attempt to undermine its regulatory mandate. The Council insisted that its official performance records are domiciled with the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation.
The regulator further alleged that ADVAN sought to leverage its relationship with PEBEC to discredit ARCON’s oversight functions and weaken its reform agenda.
ARCON also expressed disappointment with ADVAN’s Board of Trustees, led by Aare Fatai Odeshile, for endorsing the open letter. It described the action as unfortunate, noting that a council of elders should have engaged the regulator or its supervising ministry before supporting what it termed misleading claims.
At the centre of the dispute are reforms ARCON says are designed to sanitise the advertising industry, protect Nigerian creative talent, ensure prompt payment to media owners and agencies, resolve chronic debt disputes and align advertising practice with the administration’s Nigeria First Policy and Renewed Hope Agenda.
The Council emphasised that more than 10 other associations operate within Nigeria’s advertising ecosystem and none has adopted what it described as ADVAN’s confrontational stance.
Framing the disagreement as a defining moment for the sector, ARCON declared that it would not retreat from its reform agenda.
“The era of lawless advertising with impunity is over,” the statement concluded. “ARCON will resist all attempts and blackmail by ADVAN or any other group to halt the ongoing advertising industry reforms and will remain focused on promoting the Nigeria First Policy.”
