The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) yesterday suspended the revocation of the operating licenses of African Independent Television (AIT), Silverbird Television and 50 other broadcast stations following the intervention of the Nigerian Chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI), The Nation reports.
But the commission gave all the affected stations till 6pm on Tuesday, August 23 to pay up all accumulated licensing fees,
Any station that fails to meet the fresh deadline stands the risk of being shut down by 12am on August 24th, 2022.
The temporary relief was approved after mutual engagement between IPI and NBC.
It was also learnt that the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) may summon an emergency meeting of its members tomorrow to design “a payment template by defaulting stations to present to NBC.”
In revoking the licenses on Friday, the commission ordered the stations off air beginning this Saturday, citing Section 10(a) of the 3rd Schedule of the National Broadcasting Commission Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The provision says, “10. A licence may be revoked by the Commission in the following cases, that is (a) where the prescribed fee has not been paid on the due date…”
A statement by IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed yesterday said the organization engaged the Ministry of Information and Culture, the NBC and the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) to explore amicable resolution of the dispute.
He said IPI had appealed to the affected broadcast stations and the NBC to agree on a workable payment arrangement of the outstanding dues.
The statement said: “We are glad to report that the Director General of NBC, Malam Balarabe Shehu Ilela, has graciously agreed to grant an extension on compassionate grounds.
“Even though this is a temporary relief, we are hopeful that all parties will engage in the next few days with a view to arriving at a lasting resolution of the matter. We thank the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Mallam Illela for listening to us and allowing a window for dialogue.
“During our engagement with the Commission, the NBC explained that the commission had in the past granted several concessions to broadcast organizations, including writing off substantial parts of their debts and engaging them consistently to fulfill their financial obligations to the regulator.
“We implore the affected broadcasting organizations to take advantage of this window of opportunity by reaching out to the NBC.
“Nobody benefits when broadcasting stations are shut down. Members of the public have come to rely on these stations to know what their governments are doing to keep them safe in this challenging security environment. Other governments’ policies are also disseminated to the public through these channels.
“In view of the nation’s economic downturn, we further appeal to the affected broadcast stations and the NBC to agree a workable payment arrangement of the outstanding dues.”
It was gathered that the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) may summon an emergency meeting of its members tomorrow to design “a payment template.
Meanwhile, the General Manager, Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Terrence Ekise, said yesterday that efforts were being made to renew the operational licences of the station.
Ekise disclosed that the station had paid about N13 million of the N17 million it owed the NBC.
”We are surprised that in spite of ongoing efforts at clearing the backlog of debt, the station was listed among those affected,” he said.
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