Nigerian ads will have to rely solely on local models and voiceover artists in the future, the African nation’s government announced this week. The policy changes will come into force on October 1.

“All advertisements, advertising, and marketing communications materials are to make use of only Nigerian models and voiceover artists,” the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) said in a statement on Tuesday. Current advertising campaigns using foreign talents will be allowed to continue but no new permits for similar campaigns will be issued by the relevant authorities, the government agency added.

The move is consistent with the government’s policy of “developing local talent, including economic growth” and supporting the local advertising industry, the statement said. Nigeria was previously heavily reliant on foreign models and voiceover specialists in its ads, including white models and voiceovers with British accents, according to sources.

The government has been combating such tendencies for quite some time. It previously demanded that companies attracting foreign talents should pay a 100,000 naira (around $240) tariff for any foreign model used in an ad, sources said.

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ARCON head Olalekan Fadolapo also defended the regulation by saying that “advertising should resonate with the people.”

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