FG Recovers N3bn Media Debts, Moves to End Unpaid Advertisements

The Federal Government has recovered more than N3 billion in outstanding advertising debts owed to media organisations and vowed to end the practice of placing advertisements without paying publishers and broadcasters.

The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday at the inauguration of a five-member Advertising Offences Tribunal (AOT), established to strengthen compliance and accountability in Nigeria’s advertising industry.

Idris said the recovery of the outstanding debts was part of wider efforts to reform the advertising sector and protect media organisations whose operations depend substantially on advertising revenue.

He warned that the government would no longer tolerate advertisers placing adverts in media outlets and failing to settle the resulting bills.

“The era of anybody going to place adverts and then refusing to pay media organisations, that era is now behind us,” the minister said.

Idris said the tribunal was not designed simply to punish offenders but to provide a structured mechanism for resolving breaches and promoting fairness, order and accountability across the advertising ecosystem.

He said advertisers were obligated to pay for services rendered by newspapers, television stations, radio stations and other media platforms.

The minister also charged the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) with ensuring that advertisements published or broadcast in the country were responsible, developmental and in the interest of consumers.

According to him, advertising remains a major source of employment and income, making reforms in the sector important not only to media organisations but also to advertisers, creative professionals and consumers.

He urged stakeholders to cooperate with ARCON and the newly inaugurated tribunal, describing the members as professionals with the experience required to strengthen enforcement.

The tribunal is chaired by Justice Cecilia M.A. Olatoregun (Emeritus), while Musa Ahmed Attah, SAN; Merga Tyowanan Kachina, Dr Ken Onyeali Ikpe and Hajia Sa’a Ibrahim are members.

It was established pursuant to Section 37 of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act, 2022, as a specialised judicial body responsible for adjudicating offences arising from advertising and marketing communications.

Its mandate includes handling cases involving advertising without the required approval, misleading claims, unlawful comparative advertising and other violations of the ARCON Act, the Code of Advertising Practice, Standards of Practice and relevant laws.

Idris said the tribunal would help ensure that advertising regulations were effectively enforced, protect consumers from harmful practices, promote fair competition and improve professionalism in the industry.

He charged the members to operate independently and fairly, urging them to consider every case strictly on its merits.

“Every matter that comes before you should be considered on its merits, without fear or favour, affection or ill will,” he said.

The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s support for ARCON and initiatives aimed at making the advertising industry more professional, responsible and competitive internationally.

Earlier, the Director-General of ARCON, Dr Olalekan Fadolapo, disclosed that the council had recovered more than N3 billion in outstanding debts owed to media organisations within the past year.

Fadolapo said the debts had previously been regarded as bad debts but were recovered through regulatory and enforcement measures introduced by ARCON to improve compliance within the sector.

He said the recovery was particularly important because advertising revenue remained essential to the survival and day-to-day operations of many media organisations.

The ARCON chief also disclosed that the council had stepped up efforts to promote the use of Nigerian talent and locally produced content in advertising and marketing communications targeted at the domestic market.

He said the policy had increased opportunities for Nigerian photographers, models, voice-over artists and other professionals involved in the advertising value chain.

Fadolapo further disclosed that ARCON was strengthening its regulation of digital advertising as online commerce and the digital economy expanded.

He said the move was necessary to protect Nigerians from misleading advertisements, fraudulent schemes and other abuses increasingly emerging on digital platforms.

The tribunal chairman, Justice Olatoregun, pledged that the new panel would uphold integrity, transparency, fairness and justice in adjudicating cases brought before it.

She disclosed that the previous tribunal, which began sitting in November 2023, handled more than 365 cases before its three-year tenure ended in May 2026.

According to her, the tribunal also organised stakeholder engagements, town hall meetings, seminars and retreats to improve understanding of advertising laws and its procedures among practitioners and other stakeholders.

Olatoregun stressed that the tribunal was established to sanitise the advertising industry and provide a dedicated avenue for enforcement, rather than serve as an instrument for what she described as a “power play”.

She said the new panel would build on the work of its predecessor and contribute to a more transparent, credible and professionally regulated advertising industry.