For its name to accurately reflect its mandate of regulating the advertising practice in Nigeria in all its ramifications, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has changed its name to Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria ((ARCON).

This name change became official when President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the bill proposing the name change recently.

The assented bill, repeals the Advertising Practitioners (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap. A7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enacts the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) Act, 2022. It also recognizes ARCON as the apex authority for the Nigerian advertising industry.

By this signing, it is the statutory responsibility of ARCON to make provision for the regulation and control of advertising in all its ramifications and create the Advertising Offences Tribunal among other powers.

With this development, it now becomes imperative for stakeholders in the advertising ecosystem to be fully aware of the potential legal ramifications of their advertising practice and initiatives, especially with regard to regulated products. Such need becomes even more compelling where the audience of the advertising is, courtesy of technology and online platforms, which are running riot at the moment.

It would be recalled that the registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON Dr. Lekan Fadolapo had earlier on hinted that the ARCON bill was before the National Assembly and that the name change was imperative for the realization of his vision to reposition the advertising industry in Nigeria for growth.