TheCable

Armstrong Idachaba, acting director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), says the newly amended broadcasting code was not imposed on the industry by Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture.

The DG told journalists in Abuja on Wednesday that the amended code is the product of “painstaking” consultations with stakeholders.

The minister launched the controversial amended code in Lagos on August 4 despite opposition by stakeholders in the industry.

Thereafter, Ikra Aliyu Bilbis, chairman of the NBC board, said the information minister amended the code “unilaterally.”

NBC insiders had also told TheCable that top management members were “shocked” to read media reports of the launch of the code in Lagos because they were not even aware it had been printed.

“No invoice for the printing of the code has been received. We do not know where the funding came from. As a matter of fact, we were not aware it had been printed until we read reports that it was presented yesterday,” a top NBC insider told TheCable.

Idachaba said the NBC board was adequately represented on the committee that worked on the amendments.

“The board of the NBC was also adequately represented in the reform implementation committee,” the director-general said.

“At the final stakeholders’ session on March 25, a member of the board of NBC, Danladi Bako presided over the review session. A renowned mass communication scholar, Ralph Akinfeye, was part of the session.

“There was no imposition of the code under any guise.

“To have broader and independent views relating to the terms of reference of the committee, the committee invited some veterans in the broadcasting industry, broadcast station owners, represented by BON, and relevant professionals from other ministries, departments and agencies as well as the civil society.

“The committee recommended strict enforcement of provisions of the broadcasting code and the application of sanctions in compliance with provisions governing broadcasting in Nigeria by the broadcast stations.

“It demanded an upward review of fines from N500,000 to N5 million for breaches relating to hate speech, inciting comments and indecency.”

The code seeks to regulate content exclusivity, enforce content sharing and empower the NBC to determine prices at which content is sold to sub-licensees by rights holders.

Wole Soyinka, playwright and Nobel laureate, has described the code as economic sabotage.