By Akanimo Sampson
The real estate sector of Nigeria’s economy is currently suffering from a credibility crisis largely ignited by some unwholesome activities of some of the industry players. The dent on the credibility and integrity of the sector is not going down well with Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN), a foremost real estate advocacy group galvanised by an icon of the sector, Festus Adebayo.
HDAN is currently locked in a backstage campaign seeking to restore the credibility and integrity of a strategic sector of the country’s economy that is being dented by some players of easy virtue. The advocacy group’s central message is, do the right thing. This is certainly the tonic that can alter the bad guy image some Nigerians in the Diaspora are having of some real estate developers who are yet to deliver the houses they remitted funds for.
Engrained in the campaign is the emerging fact that advertising ethics in the sector require authorisation, honesty, and 100% transparency. HDAN is pressing for strict adherence to the rules governing real estate business, which of course, imposes duties beyond what the federal and state laws require. The underlying import of HDAN’s campaign is that developers can avoid costly lawsuits while advertising in a manner which obtains results.
In his top-level telecommunications engagements with other icons of the industry including Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Adebayo has been hammering on honesty and truthfulness as the watchwords in all real estate marketing and advertisements. His logic is that misleading or deceiving ad is unlawful. As a lawyer, he certainly knows what he is talking about.
Adebayo who is the Executive Director of HDAN, told this news portal in an exclusive interview in Abuja on Saturday that the alarming complaints of some real estate developers ‘’disappearing’’ from sites after collecting money from subscribers ‘’is adversely affecting the industry’’.
Piqued, Adebayo who is also the Convener of Abuja International Housing Show (AIHS), the biggest annual housing and construction event in Africa, is calling for the regulation of the real estate sector in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to HDAN, ‘’REDAN is in a better position to regulate the industry than wait for the government to do so. There have been, too much complaints in recent times about payments made to real estate developers who disappear from sites, and refusing to pick calls thereafter
‘’As a concern interest group, HDAN is calling on real estate developers to scale-up their relations with subscribers no matter how little the subscribers have invested. We can no longer fold our hands and watch some bad eggs ruin the industry.
‘’There are reports portraying the sector and its players as if they are not credible. There is therefore, an urgent need for a change of attitude to rescue the sector from being dragged further into the mud. Now is the time for professional bodies in the industry to come together and proffer solutions on how to protect the integrity and credibility of the sector.’’
The implication of what this leading advocacy group is saying is that real estate advertising ethics is a big problem in Nigeria, particularly in Abuja, and some other cities is a big problem because of non-existence regulation regime. In the US for instance, it is not so.
It seems the sector cannot be virtuous if REDAN fails to be disciplining members, and getting non-registered members to face the wrath of the law for publishing false, misleading, or deceitful ads. In the US, the Standard of Practice requires “authority” to advertise a listing coming from the listing agent who has a written listing agreement with the seller.
Every industry has ethics and standards of practice. Such should apply when dealing with all parties in real estate transactions. What HDAN is pressing for in the main is, its high time real estate developers began to follow the rules to stay out of trouble!
Requirements for Advertising
According to Bisola Scott, an associate of SPA Ajibade & Co., a law firm in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, ‘’Article 21 of the Advertising Code stipulates that all advertisements except those for public service announcements, goodwill messages, obituaries and vacancies shall be presented for vetting and approval by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP) before exposure to the public.
‘’All media houses are required to demand an ASP Certificate of Approval, before placing any advertisements on their platforms. This is also reiterated in the Vetting Guidelines. Any media house that exposes an advertisement without the ASP Certificate of Approval will be liable to a minimum penalty of N500,000.’’
The requirements for pre-approval of advertising materials, according to Scott, who is of the law firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology Law Department, ‘’are contained in the Vetting Guidelines. According to the Vetting Guidelines, an application must be made by an Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) registered practitioner, which would be forwarded to the Registrar of APCON together with all the required documents.
‘’The ASP recognizes that certain forms of advertisements may require submission to relevant self-regulatory organizations for clearance before they are presented to it for vetting. Examples of such organisations include; Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
‘’The requirements for pre-approval of advertising materials are stipulated herewith: A formal application letter for vetting addressed to the Registrar/CEO APCON; ASP form 001 filled and duly signed by a registered advertising practitioner not below an Associate Member (ARPA), stating his/her APCON Registration number; Product’s NAFDAC Certificate or payment advice (where necessary) must be attached; the Client’s letter of authorisation to advertise the product/service, signed by an APCON registered practitioner; the material concept/version; professionally produced copy/layout, in color must be submitted for approval before the issuance of the ASP’s Certificate; product samples of not less than 12 (twelve) units must be supplied; evidence of the product registration with the appropriate government agency; and demonstrations might be necessary in some cases and advertisers or their agencies must be prepared to provide the demonstration.
‘’The advertisement material being vetted should not be exposed unless a Certificate of Approval from the ASP, signed by the Registrar of APCON has been received by the applicant. An agency which creates and/or places for publication or exposure of an advertisement without the ASP Certificate of Approval will be liable to a minimum penalty of N500, 000. Also, an advertiser who authorises the publication or exposure of an advertisement without the ASP Certificate of Approval will be liable to a minimum penalty of N500, 000.
‘’The approval to advertise could be withdrawn or revoked by the ASP after it has been granted, if in the opinion of the ASP any condition for such approval has been violated, altered or changed in any way or new facts have emerged to affect the validity or authenticity of earlier data/claims submitted by the applicant. The approvals from the ASP contain identification codes which must be reflected in all advertising materials.\
‘’In a recent directive released by the ASP, the ASP stated that all communication materials regardless of the medium to be exposed must be duly vetted by APCON before exposure to the public.These materials include internet-based advertisements and should be produced for approval before exposure on any social media platform. It was also mentioned that the provisions of the Advertising code should be adhered to when considering exposing internet-based advertisements and related marketing communications.
‘’In monitoring the compliance of advertisements with laws and regulations, APCON’s Monitoring Unit, in addition to other services, utilise the services of media monitoring agencies. Members of the ASP and APCON also provide monitoring information. The public also report cases of unwholesome advertisements to APCON. APCON has also been able to curb some illegal and unapproved advertisements by monitoring advertisements.’’
Unarguably, advertising is regulated in Nigeria under both general and sector-specific laws, regulations, and guidelines, which stipulate principles and requirements for advertising. The following laws, guidelines, and regulation provide general principles and requirements for all forms of advertising in Nigeria: The Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice, Sales Promotion and Other Rights/Restrictions on Practice2; APCON) Vetting Guidelines; FCCPA; and Standards Organisation of Nigeria Act, 2015 (SONA)5
The major administrative body responsible for regulating advertising in the country is APCON. Other regulatory bodies include NAFDAC, NCC, CBN, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and FCCPC, among others. These bodies regulate advertising of specific products and services in the country, such as food and drugs, telecommunication services, cosmetics, etc. Some of the general principles and legal requirements for advertising in Nigeria are highlighted below.
Scott posits that going by the Advertising Code, all advertisement in Nigeria or directed at the Nigerian market shall be legal, decent, honest, truthful, respectful, and mindful of Nigeria’s culture, constitutional tenets and relevant lawful enactments.
This implies that all forms of advertisement including those of real estate must be legal. This means it must not be contrary to any law in Nigeria. It must also be honest and true, respectful and cognizant of Nigeria’s culture and the provisions of the constitution and local laws.
By what the law implies, advertisements should not exploit like in the avalanche of cases against some developers. The Advertising Code provides that the content of an advertisement including, statements and pictures used, must not breach any Nigerian copyright or international copyright laws or intellectual property rights.
Going by the current HDAN’s campaign, it’s time for ASP to assiduously work closely with regulatory agencies to ensure conformity of advertisements with the applicable laws in the real estate sector. Since NCC monitors compliance with advertisement regulations in the telecoms sector and impose sanctions on service providers for non-compliance with its guidelines on advertising, now is the time for REDAN to wake from its slumber, and act decisively like NCC in the real estate sector.
Real estate developers, advertisers and media house are required to comply with the regulatory requirements and obtain the necessary approval(s) to avoid the sanctions prescribed in the APCON Advertising Code including sanctions imposed by other regulatory bodies, protect the image of their brands and accord due regard and consideration to consumer protection and consumer rights.
The obvious lack of consistent enforcement of advertising laws and regulations in the real estate sector, should not serve as a basis for non-compliance by REDAN on its members and non-registered operators. Adebayo and HDAN are crusading for a just cause that needs the support of all players of conscience.
