402 radio, TV stations licensed in Nigeria

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The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr Yomi Bolarinwa, on Wednesday in Sokoto said the commission had in the last 20 years licensed 402 operational broadcasters, out of which 123 are privately owned.

Bolarinwa, who was represented at a news conference by the commission’s acting Sokoto Zonal Director, Mrs Mercy Idenyi, said:

“There are also 233 radio and television stations owned by the FCT, federal and state governments, as well as 46 cable stations,’’ he said.

The news conference was held to mark the commission’s 20th anniversary.

Bolarinwa said also that the commission had within the same period made positive impact on broadcast professionalism and brought sanity to election coverage by broadcast stations nationwide.

“We have promptly resolved and minimised issues of signal interference and other technical problems.

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“These, however, are work in progress and we will continue to push ahead through active monitoring, sanctioning and engagement with the broadcast stations,” the NBC Director-General added.

He said the commission had issued a broadcast code as demanded by law, and had democratised the process by involving the industry in a quadrennial review of the code.

Bolarinwa said part of NBC’s efforts was ensuring that Nigeria’s airwave was not seen as being for the government alone.

“The airwave cannot be monopolised by anybody. The masses of the country should know that the NBC is there for them. So, the voices of the opposition must be heard nationwide,” he said.

The NBC Director-General also said the commission was currently handling two major assignments, both of which he said were at the completion stage.

He named them as the licensing of community broadcast stations and the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

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