Industry leaders criticise OAAN’s regulatory charter pursuit, warning of duplication, bureaucracy, and harm to Nigeria’s advertising sector
Nigerian advertising professionals are voicing strong opposition to the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of Nigeria’s (OAAN) pursuit of a regulatory charter, warning that it could create unnecessary bureaucracy and duplicate existing industry regulations.
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In a recent interview with *The Guardian*, OAAN President Sola Akinsiku defended the association’s push for a charter, arguing that it aims to professionalise the sector without duplicating existing laws.
However, industry stakeholders, including the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), and the Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), have countered this claim, citing concerns over fragmentation, increased costs, and regulatory inefficiencies.
Stakeholders argue that ARCON already regulates advertising in Nigeria, making OAAN’s proposed charter redundant.
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) highlighted in a letter to the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service that the charter mirrors ARCON’s responsibilities, urging the committee to reject the proposal outright.
EXMAN President Tolulope Medebem warned that introducing another regulatory body could fragment the industry’s regulatory framework, disrupting the integrated ecosystem necessary for a thriving advertising sector.
AAAN President Lanre Adisa echoed this sentiment, calling the bill an “unnecessary duplication” that threatens the sector’s cohesion.
Even the Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), which has taken a more neutral stance, raised concerns about potential conflicts between multiple regulatory bodies overseeing the same industry.
A major concern among professionals is the potential impact of the proposed charter on labour mobility.
Currently, advertising professionals can seamlessly transition between different industry sectors, but the introduction of another regulatory body could impose additional licensing and certification requirements.
This could result in professionals needing multiple certifications to practice across different advertising subsectors, increasing costs and limiting career growth.
Additionally, industry experts warn that compliance costs could be passed on to advertisers, making Out-of-Home (OOH) advertising less competitive compared to digital and other media channels.
With digital platforms already eroding the traditional OOH market share, OAAN’s focus, critics argue, should be on innovation and digital transformation rather than creating new regulatory barriers.
Rather than establishing a new regulatory framework, advertising professionals urge OAAN to work within the existing ARCON structure to strengthen the OOH sector. Priorities should include:
– Driving digital transformation in outdoor advertising
– Improving audience measurement and return on investment (ROI) metrics
– Enhancing collaboration across the advertising ecosystem
– Developing innovative solutions to adapt to the evolving media landscape
As Nigeria focuses on streamlining regulatory bodies under the Oronsaye report’s recommendations, critics argue that OAAN’s push for a new regulatory body is ill-timed and misaligned with national economic objectives.
The Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, currently reviewing the proposed charter, faces increasing pressure from industry leaders to reject the bill.
They argue that rather than solving challenges in the advertising industry, the move would only introduce unnecessary bureaucracy, increase regulatory costs, and create inefficiencies in an already structured sector.
