Minister of information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi has told
National Broadcasting Commission ( NBC) that its primary responsibility was not just about sanctions but to promote media freedom in Nigeria and for people to know NBC’s multifaceted roles through aggressive enlightenment.
Malagi who during his first official visit to the NBC Headquarters in Abuja pointed out that
the NBC had a very important responsibility by ensuring that broadcasting in Nigeria adhered to the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and integrity.
He said,” I am committed to working closely with the NBC to foster environment that promotes media freedom, dissemination of accurate and unbiased information,
The minister therefore advised NBC to step up its public enlightenment campaign to educate Nigerians on its activities so that it would not be seen as a body that ‘is only interested in sanctioning broadcasting stations.’
“The Director General mentioned something very critical which I agree with. He said NBC is not just about sanctions, I agree with him absolutely.
“Anytime NBC is on the news it is about one station or the other committed one form of infraction or the other. Members of the public only hear about the NBC when there are sanctions to be made.
“I think beyond that, we need to do alot of enlightenment . I think that public communication in this regard is very low. You need to up it further so that people will really know what the roles of NBC are,” he said.
The NBC needs to step up its public engagement so that people will realize that the NBC is not just about sanctions but that it is there to help the industry grow and reach its potentials.
“It is only when you do that, that Nigerians will see you not from that punitive side but as a partner in progress,” he said.
He said the NBC had a very important responsibility in ensuring that that broadcasting in Nigeria adhered to the highest standards of personalism, ethics and integrity.
“In the world where information desemination is ever evolving, your oversight and regulatory role has never been more critical.
“Broadcasting is not just a transmission of signals, it is about a transmission of ideas, of culture, of values. It shapes public opinion, influences social discuss and it also reflects the inherent diversity that we have as a nation,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Director General of NBC Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, said the commission issued warnings to 1,238 stations and penalized 62 others in 2023.
He said: “The Commission is now monitoring over Seven Hundred and Seventy-Seven Stations. Out of this number Six Hundred and Nine are Radio Stations and One Hundred and Sixty-Eight are Television Stations.
“During our monitoring activities, a total of 3,312 warnings were issued in the 15st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 2022 and 2023.
“In 2022 a total of 125 stations were penalized. In 2023, a total of 1,238 warnings were given while during the same year 62 stations were penalized.”
Speaking further, Ilelah solicited for the support of the minister in the passage of a bill to regulate social media currently before the Senate in order to check the menace of fake news and misinformation.
“A bill for an Act to repeal and amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act, Cap N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, to accommodate the transition from analogue to digital transmission of broadcasting services, to promote quality audio and video delivery, efficient management of the spectrum, Nigeria Broadcast Institute, Social Media Regulation and for related matters has been read for the first time on the floor of the Senate. The Hon. Minister is hereby invited to Support the Commission ln this regard, ” he added.
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