The Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, has called on advertising practitioners in the state to partner with the government in its campaign to restore lost moral values and promote ethical conduct.
Mefor made the call when the executive members of the Advertising Practitioners Association, Anambra Chapter (APAACH), paid him a courtesy visit in Awka.
He said no government could achieve its objectives alone, noting that the government controls less than five per cent of Anambra’s economy, while more than 95 per cent remains in private hands, making collaboration with private sector stakeholders essential.
The commissioner described the visit as timely, disclosing that the ministry was preparing to launch a comprehensive value reformation campaign.
He explained that Governor Chukwuma Soludo expanded the ministry’s mandate to include value reformation in response to concerns that some youths were abandoning traditional Igbo values of hard work and embracing the pursuit of wealth without legitimate effort.
According to him, the trend contributes to social vices such as Oke Ite, cultism, internet fraud, drug abuse and other forms of criminality.
Mefor lamented what he described as an unprecedented quest for wealth in the state, which he said had manifested in the production and sale of adulterated food and drugs, fake palm wine, and criminal activities by individuals posing as native doctors and selling false promises of bulletproof charms.
He warned that failure to address the moral crisis could undermine the infrastructural achievements of the Soludo administration.
The commissioner disclosed that the ministry would soon launch a syndicated radio programme across five major radio stations in the state to stimulate public discussions on declining moral values and encourage positive behavioural change.
He added that the ministry had developed a blueprint, in collaboration with stakeholders, for a moral and ethical revolution, with particular attention to pupils in primary and secondary schools.
Speaking, the Chairman of APAACH, Ambassador Numac O. Kalu, said the association was a professional body of certified practitioners that had been operating for over three years.
He said the association sought official recognition as a key stakeholder, government guidance and sustained engagement with the ministry to promote professional development and industrial harmony.
Kalu explained that APAACH was committed to upholding professional standards, bridging the gap between academic training and industry practice, and sensitising advertising practitioners on ethical conduct.
He proposed quarterly consultations with the ministry and joint sensitisation programmes for students of Mass Communication and Marketing in tertiary institutions.
The APAACH chairman also solicited the ministry’s support for the association’s forthcoming formal conference, assuring that the body was established to complement government agencies rather than compete with them.
He expressed the association’s readiness to collaborate with the state government in promoting responsible communication, professional ethics and the restoration of positive societal values.
