The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria and the Media Rights Agenda, MRA, have decried the arbitrary approach of the NBC in revoking the licenses of alleged debtor broadcast stations.
NBC announced the measure Nigerian today, Friday, that a total of 52 private and public stations (television and radio) were affected.
According to IPC the sweeping revocation confirms its concern that NBC exercises its powers arbitrarily without recourse to the public interest.
It said the action also “confirms our worry that NBC continuously constitutes itself to the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in its own case.
“In this particular instance NBC has not only ordered the revocation of licenses of many TV and Radio stations, it has gone further to usurp the authority of the President and Commander-In-Chief and the National Assembly by directing security agents to move in and effect its order.
IPC called on NBC to exercise caution and ensure that it exhausted engagement channels before wielding a stick that may not only lead to thousands of job losses but also shrink the information dissemination space.
“NBC should stop acting as a revenue generating agency that is unconcerned about the business environment of broadcast stations, its statement said, adding,
“Nothing in its mandate says that it cannot contribute to the sustainability of broadcast stations who are having their own share of the economic crisis plaguing the Nation
MRA described the action as ill-advised, insensitive and antithetical to the interests of the Nigerian public.
In a statement by Ms Obioma Okonkwo, Head of its Legal Department, MRA said by the revocation of the broadcast licenses of so many stations for alleged non-payment of their licence fees, the NBC was prioritizing its desire to make money off the broadcasters over the interest of citizens as the ultimate effect of its action is to deprive millions of Nigerians access to information as well as their rights and ability to freely express themselves through these stations.
Ms Okonkwo said; “the action of the NBC has only worsened the prevailing lopsidedness in the broadcasting landscape in Nigeria which was already dominated by government-owned broadcasting stations but is now under the monopolistic control of Federal Government-owned stations, which will be almost unchallenged, with the result that citizens will now be fed unmitigated propaganda by these remaining stations.”
Ms Obioma accused the NBC of being insensitive to the harsh economic environment under which the broadcast stations have operated over the last two and a half years as the national economy has been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic itself and the measures taken by the government in response to the pandemic.
She noted that the broadcasting stations are also negatively impacted by the inability of the government to create a conducive environment for them to operate, such as providing appropriate infrastructure like electricity supply, adding that with the stations having to find alternative sources of power supply even as the price of diesel continues to skyrocket daily, they are simply struggling to survive.
Ms Obioma called on the NBC to reverse its decision in the public interest to avoid creating a society of predominantly ignorant citizens, advising that the need to ensure that Nigerians are adequately informed through the media should supersede any other consideration by the NBC.
She advised the commission to liaise with the broadcasting stations to identify the challenges facing the industry and come up with realistic solutions to the identified challenges.
