Information Minister tasks committee on designing framework for implementation of reform of NBC

Thu, Oct 10, 2019
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THE Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has urged the seven-man committee on the implementation of the reform of the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to design the framework for the implementation of the reform.

Inaugurating the committee, headed by Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, Director of Monitoring of the NBC, Mohammed said that the terms of reference of the committee included implementing the recommendations of the committee on the NBC reforms as approved by President Muhammadu Buhari and immediately commence work on all statutory, legal and regulatory framework for further legislative action on the review of the NBC Act by the National Assembly.

He said that the committee should immediately assess and propose equipment, materials and training needed to make the NBC a modern and well-positioned regulator and liaise with relevant agencies to ensure the provision of the manpower needs of the Commission to enable it function optimally and work out the modalities for a competitive and reasonable salaries, wages and other welfare needs of the staff of the Commission.

The minister said that the committee should establish necessary protocols for the establishment or appointment of professionals or technocrats (non-partisan personality) to run the agency, and appointment into the board of the NBC and immediately establish and publicize a new sanctioning, fines and penalty regime that is in line with international best practice, promote professionalism and serve as a deterrent to erring practitioners against misconduct, especially hate speech, violence and spread of fake news.

And that the committee should establish and publish a new regulation for the licensing of Web and Internet broadcasters/International broadcasters in Nigeria and finally end all forms of monopoly detrimental to the actualization of the immense potential of the broadcast industry.

According to the minister, the Committee, which has six weeks to submit its report, has Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, Acting Chairman of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, BON, J.K. Ehicheoya, Director, Legal Services, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Hajia Binta Adamu Bello, Secretary, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Ibrahim Jimoh, Director of Administration, FRCN, Agbo Kingsley Ndubuisi, Board Member, NBC and Joe Mutah, Chief Press Secretary, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture as members.

Before inaugurating the committee, the minister explained that the current exercise was a result of deliberations of the Federal Executive

Council (FEC) of March 27, 2019, on the unprofessional and unethical conduct of some broadcast stations, especially before and during the

last general elections and the directive of the president to institute an inquiry into the conduct of the stations and report back to the Council.

The minister said that a five-member committee was inaugurated on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, to find out to what extent the NBC was able to effectively carry out its regulatory role before and during the 2019 general elections and recommend measures that could strengthen the NBC’s regulatory role and make it more effective.

He explained that the committee submitted its report on April 24th 2019, with 26 recommendations, which were subsequently forwarded to Mr.

President, who had since approved them.

-Oct 10, 2019 @014:25 GMT |

 

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