The telco, which recently underwent a major rebrand from 9mobile following its acquisition by LH Telecommunication, confirmed that it has discharged all obligations to its advertising agencies through an installment payment plan brokered by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON).

Cleaning the Balance Sheet: The T2 Recovery Roadmap

The settlement is a critical milestone in T2’s “four-phase recovery roadmap” (Stabilization, Modernization, Transformation, and Growth).

For years, the telco, previously Etisalat Nigeria, struggled with a shrinking subscriber base (dropping to ~3.2 million by early 2025) and mounting local debts that strained its relationship with the creative ecosystem.

As of mid-2025, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) launched an investigation into 9mobile (now rebranded as T2) regarding an alleged debt of ₦1 billion owed to various advertising agencies

The Mediation: Led by COO, John Vasikaran, the T2 executive team visited ARCON HQ yesterday to formally close the matter.

The Impact: By clearing these liabilities, T2 is signaling to the market that it is “investment-ready” as it leverages its new roaming agreement with MTN Nigeria to regain market share.

A Strategic “Thank You” to ARCON

The visit serves as a high-profile endorsement for Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, the director-general of ARCON, at a time when the regulator is facing intense pushback from the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN).

While ADVAN has recently escalated its legal battle against ARCON, filing a fresh lawsuit and an “Open Letter to the President” claiming that the regulator’s interference in private contracts is killing business confidence, T2 is offering a counter-narrative.

“The Council’s facilitative role was instrumental in achieving an amicable settlement that preserved business relationships while honoring contractual obligations,” EMTS representatives stated during the visit.

The Ad-Industry Tug-of-War (2025/2026)

The ‘Digital’ Leverage

From a tech perspective, this is about the health of the supply chain. Advertising agencies are the “marketing engine” for telcos.

By utilizing ARCON’s AISOP (Advertising Industry Standard of Practice), which mandates a maximum 45-day payment cycle, T2 is attempting to distance itself from its legacy of insolvency.

However, the industry remains split. While T2 praises ARCON for “professionalizing the sector,” other multinationals (under the ADVAN umbrella) view these same regulations as a breach of constitutional freedom of contract.

As one of Nigeria’s top four telecoms companies, 9mobile has lost a substantial portion of its subscriber base, moving from 23.4 million subscribers in 2015 to just 2.96 million as of February and March 2025.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the ARCON stated that the petition was filed by advertising agencies alleging that Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Limited — trading as 9mobile — failed to settle payments for services rendered and has continued to engage new agencies without fulfilling existing obligations.

The regulator identified the alleged activity as a potential violation of the Nigerian advertising code, adding that it might have far-reaching consequences throughout the business.

“It was also alleged that while 9mobile refused to pay or resolve its indebtedness to the agencies, it has gone ahead to brief other agencies to continue its advertising and advertisement business with impunity,” the statement reads.

The ARCON said it would investigate whether 9mobile followed disengagement protocols when transitioning from the owed agencies to new ones and whether there were possible breaches of ethical procedures.

“Advertising debts are beyond agencies,” ARCON added.

“They belong mostly to media houses and third-party vendors/suppliers who are significantly affected by the indebtedness, with multiplier effects on their cash flow and operations.”

The council said it would partner with anti-graft and government agencies to ensure a full investigation and the debt’s resolution — stressing that the borders on economic sabotage.

The ARCON reiterated that the Nigerian advertising industry’s official payment threshold remains 45 days and promised to clamp down on practices that encourage unethical competition and unfair advantage.

“The council will take all necessary actions to eradicate unethical competition and ensure compliance with the Advertising Industry Standard of Practice (AISOP), including adherence to the 45-day credit policy,” it said.

9mobile is a member of the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), and its members are expected to follow advertising regulations and contractual duties within the ecosystem

The council announced its decision on Tuesday, against the backdrop of Peak Milk’s provocative Easter advertisement.

ARCON stated that companies would face sanctions for “exposure of incendiary and provocative Easter advertisements.”

In a statement, ARCON’s Director-General, Olalekan Fadolapo expressed its concern about a series of advertisements displayed during the latest Easter celebration by advertisers, media groups (traditional and online), and advertising agencies.

According to him, the advertisements were not only provocative and insensitive, but were also published without approval from the Advertising Standards Panel by the provisions of Section 53(1] of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.

He said several advertisements were observed by the council during the Easter celebration to be unpleasant, and demeaning to the Christian faith.

The Council said it would take necessary actions to ensure that the rights, sensitivities, and religious beliefs of any sect, or group of people were not disparaged or exploited for commercial gain or otherwise.

The statement read in part, “Advertisers, advertisement agencies, and media owners are strongly advised to desist from exposing any form of advertisement without obtaining the prior approval of the Standards Panel.” “Violators will be sanctioned by the law.”

However, the move by the apex regulatory body for advertising in the country to sanction the dairy company and other offenders followed an outcry by the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Christian community in general, which described Peak Milk’s Easter advertisement as “insensitive, offensive, and unacceptable.”

However, the company issued a public apology to Christians around the country on Tuesday, stating that it was neither intended to make light of the significance of the season nor inordinately exploit the unmatched sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Mr. Buchi Johnson, one of the leading practitioners in the industry and chief executive officer of Lilvera Group, in a recent chat with the media stated that the new law setting up ARCON has prevented a capital flight to the tune of N120 billion.

According to him, “The law provides that, with effect from January 1, 2023, advertisers must use a cumulative 75% of local content in all ads and marketing directed at the Nigerian market. This is exciting because the country has been losing about ₦120 billion annually due to capital flight in the sector where ads targeted at Nigerians were produced externally creating jobs in other economies but not in the targeted economy, Nigeria.”

Mr. Johnson said, this law is expected to create over 500,000 jobs annually. So, this will lead to more multinational brands using Nigerian talents, agencies, and producers in commercials targeted at the Nigerian market.

“On a personal note, I look forward to Lilvera playing a key part in ensuring that the quality that these multinational brands get from local agencies is at par if not even higher than the quality they would get elsewhere,” he said.

Speaking on Lilvera’s audacious moves to make a giant stride in the industry, the CEO of Lilvera mentioned that the agency has designed an effective tool to aid its execution and implementation of clients’ briefs. The tool is tagged 5Rs which simply represents responsiveness, relevance, receptivity, recognition and relationship.

On the potency of this tool, Mr. Johnson said “Our focus is to continue to deliver on the 5Rs that drive Integrated Marketing Communications such as Responsiveness: ensuring rapid and high-quality response to clients’ needs, Relevance: keeping our client communications highly targeted and relevant, and Receptivity: maintaining open communication lines with clients”.

He further stated that “Recognition is about prioritizing brand building and distinction to keep Lilvera the preferred brand for integrated marketing communication in the Nigerian market for multinational and local businesses and Relationship: we are nothing without the key relationships we have with our team, vendors, and clients so this is a vital area of focus for us in 2023 and beyond.”

Highlighting some landmark accomplishments of the agency, he said perfection eludes humankind yet we strive for it and will accept nothing less than the perfection that is within our reach at Lilvera. “So, we deploy every resource within our capacity to ensure the very best outcomes for our clients and our business. Our achievements in the last year are testament to the hard work and creativity of our team, the trust of our clients, and, of course, God’s grace and favour. We acknowledge Him as our helper and source for everything, even the inspiration that we receive to deliver a great experience to clients.”

He stated that “One area where we definitely need to keep growing is customer relationship management. We have built great client relationships in the past years of our business that we must continue to deepen, and we look forward to building new relationships that we will nurture, grow, and blossom.

Our clients are at the heart of our business so we will continue to focus on this area to ensure the very best experience for them as they continue to choose us for their integrated marketing communication projects.

– Buchi Johnson

The integrated marketing communications industry particularly, the agencies take pride in the awards they have won or the recognition given to them during the course of doing business for their clients. Johnson believes that Lilvera deserves every bit of the accolade showered on it and its minders.

According to him, “It does feel great to be recognised by notable organisations both locally and internationally. Some of the awards we received in 2022 are the Most Client Focused Marketing Agency of the Year – Africa by Global Business Awards; the Industry Influencer Award for Experiential Marketing at the Industry Summit Awards 3.0; and the African Prize for Leadership Excellence under the Experiential Marketing Personality Leadership Prize Category

“We are grateful for these awards and see them as propellers for our business because they challenge us to keep setting the pace, raising the bar, and bringing value to the industry. For us, the way we project ourselves is important to our productivity which is why we take first impressions seriously as this sets the tone of the relationship that follows.

Our team of highly trained professionals understand this too. So, we showcase our intelligence, professionalism, and confidence in how we handle businesses from the first meeting, earning your trust. As you know, trust is the new gold. Then, beyond that first meeting, our strong commitment to building value for our clients ensures that we maintain a high standard of excellence and professionalism in every aspect of the services we render.”

– Buchi Johnson

Buchi Johnson however said that his personal goal is to support and nurture startups around the world or globally by using or managing IMC to build profit.

Though the election has come and gone, Mr. Johnson who spoke about the impact of Central Bank of Nigeria cash swap policy and the general election on imc industry said that “We understand that the policy is designed to move the country forward in terms of managing inflation, reducing fraud, and stabilizing the economy. To this end, we support the move and enjoin the government to ensure a smooth transition to the new cashless society that we are building.”

Data plays some key roles in taking marketing decisions and according to Johnson, data is so vital to the IMC industry.

He said, “I see its impact being far reaching in how stakeholders plan and execute campaigns” adding that “Without the right data companies would be unable to take full advantage of the existing opportunities. Furthermore, IMC campaigns would struggle to deliver the most relevant content and offers across all channels to the right target audiences.”

Data plays an important role in IMC because it influences how businesses allocate budgets, how agencies target consumers, and the effectiveness of campaigns. Any player in this space that seeks to win in 2023 and beyond must pay attention to key insights presented by data trends, he enthused.

Predicting 2023 for the industry, Buchi Johnson revealed that there will be post-pandemic growth and the new ARCON law will help retain at least 75% talents in the industry.

 “I see exciting times ahead with the post-pandemic growth continuing as well as the new law requiring businesses to produce at least 75% of their marketing content locally. My advice to players in this space would be to position for growth, build capacity to deliver excellent services across the board, and maintain a high standard of quality in team management, service delivery, and customer relationship management,” he said.

The event which took place in Maryland, Lagos had 25 inductees into ARCON altogether, 22 for Associate membership and 3 for Fellow.

ARCON, which is seen to be expanding its membership is the apex advertising, advertisement, and marketing communications’ regulatory agency of the Federal Government, and in accordance with its statutory mandates, responsibilities, and powers as conveyed by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.

Omolaraeni Olaosebikan who is the Chief Executive Officer of McEnies Global Communications with this latest certification now has the full legal rights to establish a full-fledged advertising agency and explore opportunities in outdoor advertising and other independent media space.

In a chat with the pressmen, Omolaraeni one of the inductees expressed appreciation for the honour done to her by ARCON which according to her will serve as a boost to her advertising and PR practices.

She also praised the council, describing it as very professional, thorough, disciplined, and dynamic in its conducts as well as policy thrust.

The Ekiti-born marketing communication guru encouraged young and upcoming advertising practitioners to work hard and always put God first in their dealings while also embracing the ethics of advertising.

Omolaraeni Olaosebikan, who had handled many blue-chip accounts for over a decade enjoined young practitioners to continue to develop their abilities in serving and satisfying their clients.

The elated Omolaraeni added that with the certification, she was ready to explore more opportunities in the sector; thanked ARCON leadership especially the DG, for the honour done to her and several other esteemed Nigerians on Wednesday and prayed for continued success of council.

“You can’t set up agency without getting approval from ARCON and for us stakeholders we are pleased to see this critical sector to be regulated by this reputable council. I am also happy to see this platform creating understanding on how to deal with clients and agency across the entire value chain. One thing I have also learned is that wherever you find your feet, do good and God will bless your works. ARCON is a prestigious professional body, and it must be respected so and I am proud to be part of it.” Omolaraeni said

On his own part, Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo, the Director-General of the ARCON after administering oath on the inductees emphasized on the four areas where inductees can use their certificates in both indoor and outdoor advertising, he also talked about the new ARCON’s Act which puts the regulatory body in good stead to carry out its duties, since it takes care of gaps in the former APCON Act. One of such gaps, he said, is the control of new media and online advertisement, which he believed was not taken care of in the APCON Act.

According to Dr. Fadolapo the council is now empowered under law to effectively regulate and enhance inclusive growth. He assured stakeholders that ARCON is not regulating to strangulate, adding that, all it plans to achieve with these new regulatory powers is to ensure good corporate governance and inclusive growth in the sector.

The Council said the move was pⁿppaimed at growing the advertising industry

In reaction to the development, Segun Arinze, veteran actor and President of the Association of Voice Over Artists, Nigeria, in an interview with CNN on Wednesday, said the ban on foreign models and voice-over artists in Nigeria’s advertising space will save forex for Nigerian media companies and also boost Nigeria’s homegrown talents in the advertising space.

Arinze noted that Nigeria needs to protect its talent, stating that he does not think Nigeria is doing the wrong thing by providing opportunities for the talents coming up.

He also noted that Nigeria is experiencing a brain drain in the sector, adding that when the talents can’t find work within, they go outside.

“The ban is to encourage the industry, and I do not see anything wrong in that,” he said.

The ban’s impact on the industry is not the first in Africa. He said, “It is in South Africa.” It’s not strange. The impact is that we need to start having homegrown talents who need to do this and save our forex earnings. “

“So it is a whole big picture, an ongoing discussion. When Nigerian voice-over artists go out, they don’t earn even much. You need to keep everything in here.

“I am sure Hollywood and Bollywood would do the same,” he added.

In a statement signed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Representatives), Nasir Illa, on Monday, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act, 2022 was listed alongside seven other bills that were assented to.

That means it repeals the Advertising Practitioners (Registration, etc.) Act, Cap. A7, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enacts the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act, 2022

The legislation makes provision for the regulation and control of advertising, ensures the protection of the general public and consumers, promotes local content, and entrenches best international practices.

Techeconomy recalls that the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, had last week announced a ban on the use of foreign voice-over artists and models with effect from October 1.

Creatives in this regard refer to images, videos, audio, and other formats that get delivered to users. Creatives must be added to line items in order for them to serve ads.

Sean Riley, CEO Ad Dynamo by Aleph Group, gave this while discussing issues around raising army of digital marketing talents in Africa, particularly in Nigeria.

Talking about skill, he said a part of it is attitude, “for example in a market like UK it’s not unusual for a brand to spend 30 to 35% of total budget on amazing creative.

Facts & Figures about Digital Advertising in Nigeria

• Total internet advertising revenue is projected to grow from US$73m in 2018 to US$133m in 2023.
• Online ad market has seen an unprecedented growth between 2015 and 2018, By 2023, online advertising is forecast to generate US$133m on revenue
• The market’s largest segment is Video Advertising with a market volume of US$87.61m in 2022.
• 68% of total digital ad spending will be generated through mobile in 2026.
• Just recently, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON no ARCON), the regulatory body responsible for advertising in Nigeria rolled out plans to regulate online advertising in the country in a bid to sanitise the industry and curb inflammatory advertising messages.

“In most African territories brands treat creative as an afterthought, and if they spend 1 or 2% of the total budget towards creative that’s a lot so we need brands to understand that better creative delivers better results, distinguishes your brand from competitors, helps you to stand out. And so as brands adopt that change in perception it will grow the creative part of the industry. When we talk about digital, everyone focuses on numbers and metrics and the hard mathematical numerical part of the role, but creativity is a critical role to the development of the market”.

While stressing that developing talents is strategic to Ad Dynamo, Sean said now the market is developing, the Continent should preserve its army of talented youths with digital skills.

“I think it would be very arrogant to say that Aleph is going to come and close a skills gap in any market. Aleph wants to be a part of skilling up more resources in the local market. But even without Aleph, and without our efforts on Digital Ad Experts, we’ve observed a rapid decline of the skills set.

“Digital advertising world is all about skills available. Anyone can load 100 dollars on any platform and spend it, but optimising that and building great creative, are all critical attributes to achieving performance.

“We’ve seen that skillset developed in Nigeria. And I think the easiest way of assessing that skillset is assessing the caliber of the people we are busy hiring.

“And the caliber of the people we are finding on the ground has been exceptional. If I think back 10 years ago to today, we think that the team in Nigeria is world class and can hold their own compared to any other market. I think we can put all frills on it, but we are a sales business and the one area we need to get better in Nigeria is (and this is not exclusive to Nigeria, it’s the way in very many of markets we operate in), but I still think it’s an environment to achieve good sales results with relationships”.

The Ad Dynamo CEO, continues: “This is an important part of it, but at the same time you have to get to the point where you are achieving results because you are delivering value. If you are showing compelling results and a compelling outcome it shouldn’t matter if we are best mates or not. That is still a transition that we are busy seeing but we are seeing that transition. We are also seeing brands and agencies maturing a lot. In my last visit we had a lot of big brands stating that one of their KPIs is to pay their suppliers within 7 days…”, he said.

When asked how the current trend of mass migration of talents from Africa, digital marketers inclusive, to Europe, America and other Continent, he insisted that “skills development is key; we are absolutely seeing that trend. I think that what reinforces that for us is that a lot of brands are recognising the gap. Whereas a few years ago brands would pretend there was no gap they now see their depth or how threatened by a fast changing world.

“I think all markets are going to have that challenge, not only Nigeria, of young talent wanting to cast their wings and go on an adventure abroad. I think after time a lot of them (young talents) come back.

“A great illustration for me is that if I were to pull out our top 30 clients from 10 years ago to today at least 30% of our top 10 clients didn’t even exist 10 years ago. Which shows us that the change happening in Nigeria is fast. I think that talking about skill, a part of it is not only skill but attitude, for example in a market like UK it’s not unusual for a brand to spend 30 to 35% of total budget on amazing creative”, the Ad Dynamo CEO said.

The apex regulatory body in the nation’s integrated marketing communications space also revealed the consequent change of name to ARCON.

According to a statement on Monday, the Director General of the body, Dr. Lekan Fadolapo, also announced the ban on the use of foreign models and voiceover artists in the nation’s advertising space, to further enhance the inclusive growth of the sector.

He explained that the new ARCON Act, the existing APCON Act, promulgated in 1988 to enable the body to effectively regulate and control the practice of advertising in the country.

According to him, the new ARCON Act puts the regulatory body in good stead to better carry out its statutory regulatory duties, since it takes care of noticeable gaps in the former APCON Act.

One of the gaps, he added, is the control of the new media and online advertisement, which he believed was not properly taken care of in the old APCON Act.

Fadolapo however stated that though the new Act provides the council with more regulatory powers, the agency, he added, would only regulate to enhance inclusive growth.

“Stakeholders in the industry should rest assured that we are not regulating to strangulate.

All we plan to achieve with these new regulatory powers is to ensure good corporate governance and inclusive growth in the sector,” he added