The Federal government has constituted a five-man committee to probe the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over its regulatory role before and during the 2019 general elections. The panel which is headed by the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga, has as members, Engineer Edward Amana, Dr Armstrong Idachaba, the Director of Legal Services of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and Mr Joe Mutah who serves as the secretary to the committee.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, in a letter dated April 8, 2019, with reference number: FMIC/HM/GEN/001/X111, addressed to Onanuga, said the probe was at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari.

“I have the honour of appointing you as a member of the five member committee which I have set up, on the directive of Mr President, to investigate the regulatory role of the National Broadcasting Commission before and during the 2019 general elections,” Mohammed wrote in the letter.

Part of the terms of reference as stipulated by Mohammed, is for the committee to “find out to what extent the NBC was able to effectively carry out its regulatory role before and during the 2019 general elections.”

Mohammed added that the move was necessary because during the elections, many radio and television stations exhibited lack of professionalism and gross partisanship in their news and programmes, in addition to exploiting the national fault lines of ethnicity and religion.

The Minister directed the committee to recommend measures that could strengthen the NBC regulatory role and make it more effective.

The committee, according to the minister, has two weeks from the day of its inauguration to submit its report to him.

In a related development, Alhaji Mohammed has queried the NBC DG for renewing the digital license granted Details Nigeria Limited, operators of GOTv without his knowledge and approval. He also ordered the immediate withdrawal of the three-year licence. Mohammed, in a letter addressed to the Director General of NBC, Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, dated March 29, 2019, said the meeting with Details Nigeria Limited was convened without his knowledge as the Supervising Minister of the NBC and Chairman of the Ministerial Task Force on the Digital Switch Over (DSO).

He said considering the importance of the issue at stake and its implication for the nation’s laws and security, such flagrant disregard for constituted authority is totally unacceptable.

“The conclusions reached at the meeting, especially the decision to renew the GOTV licence for three years, negate the position of the White Paper on the DSO, making it not only illegal, but a willful disrespect for our laws and national institutions,” Mohammed stated.

While saying that the government desired foreign investments and continued to provide the enabling environment for such investments to thrive, Mohammed however added that it was worth stating that foreign investments can only thrive where there is law and order.

“The action of Details Nigeria Limited shows total disrespect for our laws. Despite ample notice (five years) of the position of the White Paper, the decision of the Ministerial Task Force for at least three years and very specifically, one year since your letter to Details Nigeria Limited to negotiate with one of our signal distributors, they chose the path of defiance and arrogance.

“In view of the foregoing, I hereby direct that the three-year license given to Details Nigeria Limited be withdrawn immediately,” Mohammed directed.

The Minister warned the NBC DG that “No part of the license fees paid by Details Nigeria Limited should be touched by the NBC until a renegotiated agreement has been signed, subject to my approval.”

Efforts to get the Minister to answer some questions on these developments on Friday failed as his mobile line was switched off. Responding to the memos however, the Director-General of NBC, Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, said the Board of NBC was already looking at all the issues. “I am aware. The Board of the NBC is looking at all the issues,” Kawu said without expatiating. (Saturday Sun)

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