Days after the Nigerian broadcasting commission (NBC) announced the withdrawal of broadcast license of 53 radio and television stations, the Nigerian labour congress has called on the regulatory agency to do a downward review of fees.
BASIC FACTS
- The NBC had last week announced the withdrawal of broadcast liecence of some media outfits for not renewing their licence.
- NLC has called on the NBC to reduce the licence fee for broad cast stations.
- There are also fears that federal government may be hiding under some regulatory fees to shut down unfriendly media companies before the 2023 election campaign heats up
WHAT WE KNOW
The Nigeria Labour Congress has called on the National Broadcasting Commission to review the cost of operating licences for broadcast organisations in the country.
The NLC President Ayuba Wabba, made the call in a statement made available to media houses days after NBC announced the withdrawal of the broadcast licences of more than 53 radio and television stations in the country.
The NBC had last week said the affected stations failed to renew their broadcast liecence after it had expired.
However, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba said the decision failed to take into cognizance the economic challenges that have hurt the operations of the stations, arguing that the stations did not deliberately refuse to renew the licences.
The NLC President acknowledged that the NBC had a regulatory duty in the broadcast industry but stressed that the withdrawal of the licences could hurt labour and increase unemployment.
The NLC also noted that the harsh economic reality in the country is suffocating business, making it difficult to break even. The NLC blamed the government for poor infrastructure, increasing cost of diesel and epileptic power supply all of which has increased the cost of operations.
NOTABLE QUOTE
The NLC President in the statement said, “In defence of the media, democratic and economic rights of Nigerians, we call on the NBC to rescind this decision to withdraw the operating licenses of the affected 53 media houses,”.
“In light of our foregoing concerns, we urge that the media operating licence be reviewed downwards as information dissemination is a social service.”
“Many media houses just like most businesses in Nigeria suffer the double jeopardy of escalating business costs and plummeting revenues.
“Largely to blame for this sad state of affairs is government which mismanagement of the economy has ensured that a litre of diesel is now knocking at the borderline of N1000.
“To compound the situation is the epileptic supply of electricity with the national grid collapsing intermittently for the umpteenth time in recent months.”
“In addition to the soaring and scary rising energy costs which hit electronic media houses hardest given that they must always be on air whether it makes economic sense or not, there are salaries to pay. maintenance services, and sundry basic operating costs to keep the media houses running and serving their listening and viewing public.”
“Amidst these operational suffocations, how does the NBC expect the media houses to generate the money to renew their operating licenses? Indeed, Nigeria’s media houses should be eulogized for resilience, and tenacity in the face of prevailing economic blizzards.”
“It was with disbelief that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) received the news of the withdrawal of the licenses of 52 media houses including both electronic television and radio media houses. The reason given by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was that the affected media houses failed to pay for their license renewal.”
“While we understand that the NBC has a regulatory duty to ensure rules keeping, we believe that the action taken by the NBC is a little too drastic, dramatic, draconian, and debilitating not only for the affected media houses but also for their staff and indeed millions of Nigerians who follow programs from the affected media houses.”
“The first natural instinct to the withdrawal of the operating license by the NBC is the idea that the affected media houses did not deliberately avoid paying for their operating licenses.
“Such would be akin to cutting so close to the bone. The most palpable reason for the failure of many of the media houses to pay for the renewal of their operating licenses could be easily found in the deteriorating economic conditions in Nigeria.
“This is understandable given the severe stress and strain that businesses in Nigeria have been subjected to owing to fallout of the COVID 19 lockdown in 2020, the ongoing disruption in global and domestic energy supply, the foreign exchange volatilities, and the associated hyper-inflation.”
“The action of the NBC also smacks of insensitivity to the welfare of the staff of the media houses which operations are being shut down. It is unthinkable that in the middle of very traumatic economic realities, government would be thinking of flinging many Nigerians into the unemployment market.
“Well, this is not new. A few days ago, the Nigeria Governors Forum made a case for the mass sack of Nigerians in government employment. The unsolicited advice which had been robustly deflated by the NLC reveals a very embarrassing underbelly in the thinking of those commanding the reins of power in Nigeria today- crass insensitivity. This is very sad and unfortunate.”
“Albeit, we just received with some relief new reasoning by the NBC to allow the affected media houses to continue to operate. This is commendable. Yet, our concerns conveyed in the foregoing subsist.”
CATCH-UP
Recall that just last week, Clariform Newsdesk and other media platforms had reported the NBC decision to withdraw the operational liecence of some 53 media stations over failure to renew their liecences. The NBC had given the affected stations 24 hours to shut down. However, the time frame or grace period was extended by the NBC.
TAKEAWAY
Clariform Newsdesk indeed agrees with the NLC on the need to do a downward review of broadcast licence.
While we at Clariform hails the NLC for making a case for the broadcast stations and inherently the workers of the affected stations, it however, suggested to the NBC to involve the media houses in decisions affecting them.
This is especially when it comes to deciding fees to be paid. What use is it to unilaterally decide a fee that the radio and television stations can’t afford to pay. The NBC should be a partner and not a foe to media houses and information.
Press freedom and the right of the people to be informed and educated by an independent media cannot be sacrificed on the alter of revenue for government.
As the 2023 election approaches, the federal government should not behave in a way to confirms existing suspicion of the government’s attempts to gag media companies that have been critical of its activities.
There is reasonable suspicion that the federal government may be hiding under the guise of allegedly nonpayment of regulatory fees to shut down media companies considered likely to be unfriendly to the candidates of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).
