Revocation of licenses: NBC extends deadline to 52 broadcasting stations to offset debt

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) says it has extended the deadline given to the 52 media stations across the country to clear their debts.

 NBX had Friday revoked the broadcasting licenses of some 52 media firms including private and state government-owned stations over debt owned the regulatory agency of the Federal Government by the affected firms.

NBC claims that the affected stations which had their licenses revoked owed it over N2 billion.

NBC, in a statement, titled; ‘REVOCATION OF BROADCAST LICENSE: Matters Arising,’ issued, Saturday, said the decision to extend the deadline for the stations to pay up follows ‘intervention of Concerned Groups and visible concerted efforts by some defaulting Licensees to offset their debts.’

According to the Director General, NBC, Malam Balarabe Shehu, the new deadline is now 6pm of Tuesday, August 23, 2022.

“Following intervention of Concerned Groups and visible concerted efforts by some defaulting Licensees to offset their debts, the National Broadcasting Commission hereby serves this Notice of an extension of Deadline to Shutdown to 6.00PM on Tuesday August 23, 2022,” read the statement.

It would be recalled that relevant stakeholder groups in the broadcasting industry, including the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), have roundly condemned the decision by the NBC to revoke licenses of the stations on Friday.

Reacting to the development, Friday, the International Press Centre (IPC) warned the regulatory agency of the Federal Government to reconsider the employment implications of the move.

IPC also warned the NBC to ‘stop acting like a revenue generating agency of government that is unconcerned about the business environment of broadcast stations.’

IPC which described the decision as arbitrary, accused the agency of exercising its powers ‘without a recourse to the public interest.’

IPC, in a statement signed by its Press Freedom Officer, Melody Lawal, also called on NBC to exercise caution in enforcing its authority and to exhaust all available channels before taking decisions that may render thousands jobless and shrink the information dissemination space.

“The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos-Nigeria decries the arbitrary approach of the NBC in revoking the licenses of alleged debtor broadcast stations.

“IPC holds that the sweeping revocation confirms its concern that NBC exercises its powers arbitrarily without recourse to the public interest.

“It also confirms our worry that NBC continuously constitutes itself to the accuser, the prosecutor, and the judge in its own case.

“In this particular instance NBC has not only ordered the revocation of licenses of many TV and Radio stations, but it has also 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.

“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.

“NBC should stop acting as a revenue generating agency that is unconcerned about the business environment of broadcast stations.

“Nothing in its mandate says that it cannot contribute to the sustainability of broadcast stations who are having their own share of the economic crisis plaguing the Nation,” the statement read.