BY James Ojo
The management of NTA-Star TV Network Ltd, a joint venture between the Nigerian Television Authority and the StarTimes Group, says its finances and operations are open to forensic audit as requested by a senate committee.
A joint committee of the senate on finance and national planning had on Monday queried NTA’s management over its non-profitable venture with StarTimes in the past 11 years.
The development had come amid reports of a missing N200 billion from its coffers.
In a statement on Thursday, Lazarus Ibeabuchi, the public relations officer for StarTimes Nigeria, said the company is not scared of the proposed audit, noting that its activities have been within the confines of established statutory laws and regulations.
It also noted that no revenue of N200 billion was missing, explaining that “gross earnings have been repeatedly ploughed back into cost of production to cover cost of components, namely transmitters, equipment, generating sets and satellite; content acquisition; as well as operating costs, which include salaries and other running costs, incurred within our ten years of operation.”
“NTA-Star TV Network Limited is a responsible corporate organisation, with our business activities conforming to statutory laws and regulations. Our accounts are audited by one of the big four audit firms in the world, widely known for their integrity and professionalism in the audit field. Aside our statutory audits being carried out by external auditors, our financial activities are fully audited by the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS,” the statement read.
The company said the loss in its operations over the years “is as a result of the fact that our huge upfront investment is in U.S. dollars, and the long-term cost recovery has met brick-walls with successive years of naira depreciation.”
“Pay-TV business is capital intensive and has a long gestation period. More than 80 per cent of inputs into our operations are dollar-denominated. The naira fluctuations haven’t been favourable to the business, making it more and more difficult to meet dollar-denominated obligations,” it added.
The company said it regretted the outcome of the senate hearing, claiming “it amounts to a media trial without proper due diligence.”
Ibeabuchi said the company’s operating environment is already fast improving, adding that with loses gradually on a decline, the venture hopes to bridge expectations in terms of profit soon.
“We believe that as a going concern, we will eventually achieve profitability shortly and make greater contributions to society,” it added.
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