The Federal Government has appointed the Group Managing Director of SO&U, Udeme Uffot, as the chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON).
His appointment followed calls by the advertising practitioners under the aegis of the Head of Advertising Sectorial Group (HASG) to President Goodluck Jonathan to rescind the appointment of Prince Ngozi Emioma, who was said to have been appointed in violation of the provisions of the law guiding the appointment of APCON chairman.
In a letter to the Minister of Information by the Secretary to the Federal Government dated January 28, made available to the media last night, the Presidency said the appointment of Uffot should be effected immediately in pursuant to the provision of Section 2 (1) (a-d) of the Advertising Practitioners Act.
Uffot was appointed by the presidency among other contenders: Ade Akinde, the chairman of Advertising Standard Panel; Funmi Onabolu, former president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN) and the Chairman of Media Link, Mr. Akinbobola Babu.
When The Niche contacted the erstwhile chairman of the council, Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, he said the decision of the Federal Government to rescind the appointment of Ngozi is because his appointment contravenes APCON’s laws.
Akinwunmi said with the appointment of the new chairman, the new council would continue the reform which created crises in the industry.
He said the new council would key into the reform, as some of them were part of the committees that drafted the reform aimed at standardising advertising practice.
Uffot, confirming his appointment, told The Niche that he was challenged when he received the news of his appointment.
“Although I’ve not seen my letter of appointment, I was informed a few minutes before you called me,” he said.
Speaking on the APCON reform, Uffot said there is a lot of work to be done, adding that it requires sacrifice.
“I need wisdom to deal with this. With the experience of the council members, the APCON reform will continue. It’s a challenge and an opportunity to make a change. The APCON reform followed due process. We will sanitise the system,” he said.