A non-governmental organisation, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has condemned today’s revocation and withdrawal of the broadcast licenses of 52 broadcast stations across Nigeria by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), describing it as ill-advised, insensitive and antithetical to the interest of the Nigerian public.
Head of the legal department of the NGO, Ms Obioma Okonkwo, said in a statement that the revocation of the licenses of so many stations for alleged non-payment of their licence fees has shown that the regulator was more interested in making money off the broadcasters than in the interest of citizens.
“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,” she said.
Okonkwo added: “We are shocked by this naked display by the NBC of a lack of appreciation of its principal role, which is to contribute to the emergence of a knowledge society.
“Rather, it has chosen to create an environment in which millions of Nigerians will wallow in ignorance, deprived of access to crucial information that they need to make critical decisions in their lives or to enhance their livelihoods.
“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.”
Okonkwo also 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 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.
She argued that the stations have to find alternative sources of power supply even as the price of diesel continues to skyrocket daily, saying they are simply struggling to survive.
According to her, “The fact that so many broadcasting stations have been unable to pay the license fees raises serious questions about the fairness and appropriateness of the fees being imposed on broadcasters by the NBC in such a challenging economic environment. As the NBC, which imposes the fees and collects them for its own use, there needs to be an independent inquiry into this apparent conflict of interest where the motivation of the commission is apparently to make as much money for itself as possible.”
Okonkwo 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 stations to identify the challenges facing the industry and come up with realistic solutions to the identified challenges.
