Information Minister Labaran Maku has dismissed as untrue a report that he recently played host to, and even hailed the new leadership of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) in his Radio House, Abuja, office.

“The report claims that the persons who visited the Honourable Minister of Information were holding their first official meeting as the leadership of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), at the Radio House, Abuja. Yet in the same report, it was stated that the Council had not been inaugurated. On what basis could they have held their first official meeting with the Minister?” Maku’s Press Secretary Joseph Mutah said in a statement issued in Abuja.

Mutah said that “the Minister wishes to clarify that his meeting with the visitors where they raised a number of issues was private and not in their official capacity as the leadership of APCON. The Council has yet to be inaugurated.

“The general public is hereby advised to disregard the report in its entirety as no any iota of truth is contained in the publication.”

News Express reports that the Abuja-based Daily Trust had on May 28 reported that Maku the previous day “pledged to support the new leadership of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) in the discharge of their duties.” The paper said the minister made the pledge “when the council members led by the new chairman, Prince Ngozi Emioma, attended the first official meeting of the council with him at Radio House, Abuja.”

Maku was further quoted as having “also congratulated the council members on their appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan” and to have “expressed regret that the council has not assumed duty since April 2013 when the president approved their appointments and promised to consult with the registrar to enable the council function effectively.”

According to the report, “APCON Chairman, Prince Ngozi Emioma, after presenting the council’s mission statement to the minister, said the council plans to rebrand APCON through its Stimulated Advertising Remobilization Strategy – STARS agenda.”

He reportedly said that STARS would “address issues that deal with poor adaptation and deployment of current information and communication technologies, unethical and unprofessional conduct, and fidelity in the payment of bills due to media establishments.”

The report said that “the new council members who met with the minister include Chief Abiodun Opebiyi, Hajia Fanta Baba Shehu, Barrister Chuks Okoye, Barrister Isobeye Mac-Barango, Zailani Mohammed Yawuri, and Bitrus Kaura.”

•Photo shows Information Minister Labaran Maku.