President of the Eighth Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has called

on the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), to immediately obey

the court order granted by the Federal High Court in Abuja, which

called for the maintenance of status quo as of May 31, 2019, pending

the determination of a motion filed by DAAR Communications PLC, owners

of Raypower Radio and African Independent Television (AIT).

Saraki, in a statement signed by Yusuph Olaniyonu, his Special Adviser

on Media and Publicity, stated that all such actions that could cast

aspersions on Nigeria’s commitment to the freedom of the press must be

avoided.

“Yesterday, the management and the workers of AIT and DAAR

Communications came to the National Assembly to air out their concerns

over the purported moves to clamp down on their stations.

“As yesterday was the Valedictory session of the 8th Senate, we could

not take action on the matter immediately and to our surprise, the

premises of the broadcast station were immediately closed by the NBC.

“Regulators though necessary, must know that all such actions that

give the impression of the endangering of the freedom of the press or

freedom of speech cast our nation in a bad light. Such issues need to

be handled in a better manner.

“Moving forward, the NBC needs to comply with the Court Order.

Additionally, we must understand that this is not only about AIT, this

is about Nigeria and one of its stations that is not only viewed

within the country, but outside the country as well. The NBC should

look at a better way to resolve the issue, even after adhering to the

ruling of the court

“We must be seen to be a nation that adheres strictly to the rule of

law,” Saraki stated.

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