Adebayo Adenrele
The International Press Centre(IPC), Lagos-Nigeria, has called on the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to stop functioning as revenue generating Agency for media Houses in the Country.
This is contained in a statement released by its Press Freedom Officer, Melody Lawal, in reaction to NBC’s revocation of 52 media Houses in the country.
IPC equally frowned at NBC, for deploying law enforcement agents to the media Houses to also shut down their operations.
IPC thereby urged NBC to tread with caution as their action would not only make people jobless but also affect the media space.
The statement read in part, “The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria decries the arbitrary approach of the NBC in revoking the licenses of alleged debtor broadcast stations.”
“NBC announced the measure Nigerian today, Friday, August 19, 2022. A total of 52 stations (television and radio) are affected.”
“IPC holds that the sweeping revocation confirms its concern that NBC exercises its powers arbitrarily without recourse to the public interest.”
“In this particular instance NBC has not only ordered the revocation of licenses of many TV and Radio stations, it has gone further to usurp
the authority of the President and Commander-In-Chief and the National Assembly by directing security agents to move in and effect its order.”
“NBC should stop acting as a revenue generating agency that is unconcerned about the business environment of broadcast stations.”
“IPC calls on NBC to exercise caution and ensure that it exhausts engagement channels before wielding a stick that may not only lead to thousands of job losses but also shrink the information dissemination space.”
