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The Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria has mandated that all influencers and content creators must obtain prior approval before publishing advertisements on any platform.
According to CableNG, this directive was issued in a statement on Monday signed by ARCON’s Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo, who raised concerns about the growing trend of misleading advertisements, particularly across digital media.
Fadolapo cited the recent scandal involving the CBEX ponzi scheme as a cautionary tale on the dangers of unchecked advertising content.
“Such tragedies show the importance of vetting advertising materials for honesty, transparency, and compliance with ethical standards before dissemination,” the statement read.
Reinforcing the council’s stance, Fadolapo emphasized that all stakeholders are expected to ensure advertisements go through ARCON’s vetting and approval process before being released to the public — regardless of the medium.
“Advertisements that misrepresent facts, omit critical information, or are designed to exploit vulnerable audiences will not be tolerated,” he added.
ARCON further stressed that social media platforms are not exempt from its oversight, and reiterated that influencers and digital content creators fall under its regulatory scope. They are required to secure approval ahead of publishing promotional content.
The council issued a stern warning that individuals or organisations found circulating unapproved advertisements will be investigated and may face sanctions from the advertising offences tribunal.
To ensure compliance, Fadolapo disclosed that ARCON has launched a dedicated task force to monitor advertising across all platforms and quickly flag violators.
“We urge the public to also support this initiative by reporting any advertisement that appears deceptive or suspicious,” the council stated.
PUNCH Online reports that in recent years, Nigeria’s digital advertising space has seen exponential growth, driven by the rise of social media influencers, content creators, music stars, celebrities, and online marketers.
However, this boom has also given rise to a surge in scams, misleading, unregulated ads, among others prompting regulatory concerns.
