Prince Shola Rotimi, CEO, Eagleserve
An Out-of-Home advertising practitioner based in Abuja and Chief Executive Officer of Eagleserve, Prince Shola Rotimi has urged government to come to the rescue of Integrated Marketing Communications industry in the northern states of the country.
Speaking on the prevalent challenges facing the IMC industry in the region, Prince Rotimi said, government should do the needful before the IMC industry collapses in the northern states of the federation. He alleged that government officials and politicians do work in connivance with quacks to get government briefs, hence executing media contracts which should be exclusive preserve of the advertising practitioners.
According to him, “The way politicians and top public servants do give government media contracts to the quacks is appalling. Few of the Ministries Departments and Agencies’ (MDAs) jobs that pass through Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) are intentionally publicized in the manner agencies do not have access to the briefs. Moreover, the clause ‘Corporate License’ is not adhere to as anyone can take someone else’s APCON certificate to execute any job in these climes.
“Government can solve this problem through the Minister of Information by giving directives to other MDAs to adhere strictly to APCON Corporate License.”
Apart from this, he said another challenge that has been facing the IMC industry in the northern states over the years is the inability of government to attract investors into the country to set up companies and industries that can contribute to the growth of the nation’s economy.
“The marketing communication industry has been through a lot in northern part of the country over the years, and one of the major challenges in this area is the availability of few private companies. Though this is inevitable with the high rate of insecurity that is driving investors away, government must, as a matter of necessity, tackle the menace in order to make the country conducive for foreign investors,” he submitted.
