The Nigerian Advertising Regulatory Council has vowed to sanction all political ads that are not approved by the body.
It also stated that the agency would start applying sanctions against any breached ad campaigns in Nigeria from December 5, 2022.
In a speech made available to our correspondent on Sunday, ARCON Director General Olalekan Fadolapo warned advertisers to stop running political ads that violate the stipulated codes. He spoke in Abuja at the recently concluded National Advertising Conference.
He said: “The advertising code is there, by December 5, 2022, we will start applying it in all political advertising campaigns in Nigeria.
“Any campaign in Nigeria that is not approved by the council and in line with the code, we are going to start enforcement and sanctions.”
Fadolapo, however, claimed that the advertising industry was on the verge of collapse, so all stakeholders must re-strategize to get the sector back on track.
He said: “Our industry is under threat. There has been speculation that the industry will die; we know our industry is under threat. It is threatened by forces inside and outside the industry.
“So we have to sit down and re-strategize and ask ourselves questions; How do we get out of this situation in which we have found ourselves? How do we grow our industry?
The Director of the Department of Signage and Outdoor Advertising, Bagana Adam, said that political advertising was a very important part of the campaigns, adding that the tendency of advertisers to exaggerate and cross various ethical lines when trying to get their messages across was always a factor that could be overlooked.
He charged those concerned to be obedient and ensure that messages capable of undermining the unity of the country are not allowed.
“Therefore, you have a responsibility to ensure that in the course of campaigns, messages capable of undermining the democratic electoral process or even the unity and sanity of the country are not allowed into the public arena,” he said.