The production of advertising, promotional, and marketing communication materials outside of the country costs the Nigerian advertising business approximately N120 billion yearly, according to the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).
This was said in a statement made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja by Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, Director-General of ARCON.
He claimed that the development had consistently resulted in job losses and had slowed the expansion and development of the advertising sector.
Fadolapo says that the tendency has a negative impact on the Federal Government’s present initiatives for job creation, inclusive growth, and development.
He said that the council was given the authority to ensure the preservation of local content and the utilization of indigenous skills in advertising, advertisement, and marketing communication materials under Section 8(1)(I) of ARCON Act No. 23 of 2022.
Fadolapo announced that the council would start enforcing a rule to mandate a minimum cumulative local content of 75% for all materials.
He stated that in order to carry out the policy, voice actors and models must be Nigerians, and the materials themselves must be produced in Nigeria and accurately depict the culture of the nation.
Fadolapo also said while the production crew may include foreigners, “Nigerians and Nigerian organisations must partake in the production.”
He continued by saying that the strategy would allow Nigerians and the economy to profit from a sector that had received a lot of strong local support.
The program, according to the director-general, would generate approximately 500,000 new job openings each year in the advertising sector, having a positive multiplier effect on the economy.
He noted that the new regulation would encourage investment in the sector while discouraging capital flight.
