President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr Olalekan Fadolapo as the new Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Until his appointment, he was the executive secretary of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Dr Olalekan Fadolapo as the new Registrar/Chief Executive Officer of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). Until his appointment, he was the executive secretary of Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN.

According to the approval letter, which was conveyed to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, by Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the President, on Tuesday, Mr. Fadolapo’s appointment takes effect from 1 Sept. 2020.

The federal government also approved the appointment of other Chief Executive Officers for eight other agencies under the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. The appointments will take effect from 1 Sept. 2020 as well.

In an exclusive telephone interview with Brand Communicator’s Jeremiah Agada, an ecstatic Fadolapo confirmed that he has indeed been appointed by the PMB-led administration to steer the affairs of APCON. In the same vein, he explained that he will resign his position with the AAAN to take up his new responsibility at the beginning of next month.

Prior to Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi retirement in 2018, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha was appointed the acting registrar/CEO to avoid a vacuum in leadership in the regulatory body.

The CEOs and their respective agencies are: Mr. Buki Ponle, Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria and Mr. Nura Sani Kangiwa who was named the Director General, National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism.

Mr. Francis Ndubuisi Nwosu was appointed the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Press Council; Mr. Ebeten William Ivara, Director General, National Gallery of Arts and Prof. Sunday Enessi Ododo, General Manager/CEO, National Theatre.

Others are Mr. Ado Mohammed Yahuza, Executive Secretary/CEO, National Institute for Cultural Orientation; Prof. Aba Isa Tijjani, Director General, National Commission for Museums and Monuments and Mrs. Oluwabunmi Ayobami Amao, Director General, Centre For Black And African Arts And Civilisation.

For a very long time, APCON has remained without a governing Council or board. Concerns had been raised in the past, with practitioners in the sub-sector raising alarm about the sensitive and pivotal role the Council plays in contributing to the peace and economy of the country.

An active APCON Council comprises of Advertising Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Association of Advertising Agencies in Nigeria (AAAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Federal Ministries of Information and Communication and Federal Ministry of Health as well as universities/polytechnics offering advertising-related courses.