The revocation of the broadcast licences of Silverbird TV, African Independent Television (AIT), Raypower FM, Rhythm FM and 50 other stations by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) portends grave danger for the nation’s democracy and an infraction on press freedom as it is an attempt to muzzle the press and abridge the democratic space.
Announcing the revocation order, the Director General of NBC, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, said the development followed the stations’ failure to renew their broadcast licences. He directed the commission’s state offices to liaise with security agencies to ensure the shutdown of the operations of the stations “within the next 24 hours”.
He said the stations were owing about N2.6 billion debt. According to him, in May 2022 the commission published in the national dailies the names of stations who were yet to renew their licences and granted them two weeks to renew their licenses and pay their debt or get their licenses revoked, frequencies withdrawn and reassigned to others who were ready to abide by the necessary requirements.
The NBC director general said three months after the publication, some stations were yet to pay their outstanding debt in contravention of the Commission’s Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, particularly section 10(a) of the third schedule of the Act.
He said stations yet to renew their licences for the current duration were advised to do so within 30 days to avoid sanctions. Shehu called on all Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) and all other broadcast stations that were streaming online to register with the commission to avoid disconnection.
The NBC director general said before revoking their licences, the commission had been talking with the affected stations for a year, but they refused to cooperate and pay. He said even when they pay their fee, they will have to pay a recommencement to go back on air.
In a twist, following the outcry of Nigerians against the revocation, the NBC extended the 24-hour shut down order imposed on AIT/Ray Power FM, Silverbird TV Network and 50 other broadcast stations. In a statement on Saturday, the commission said following intervention of concerned groups and visible concerted efforts by some defaulting licensees to offset their debts, it had extended the deadline to 6pm on Tuesday August 23, 2022.
“This is to inform all the affected broadcast stations whose licenses were revoked and given 24 hours to pay all outstanding license fees that the National Broadcasting Commission has extended the period which all outstanding debts are to be paid from 24 hours to Wednesday, August 24, 2022.”
“All affected broadcast stations who fall to defray their debts on or before August 23, 2022 are directed to shut down by 12 am on August 24, 2022. This extension is due to the appeal by the affected broadcast stations, relevant stakeholders, public spirited individuals and organisations.”
It is instructive that many individuals and groups had criticised the action of the NBC. The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) faulted NBC, saying although the commission claimed that the sanction had no political motives, the revocation was ill-timed and reckless.
NUJ National President, Chris Isiguzo, said the decision appeared to have been taken without careful deliberation. “While we regret the inability of these broadcast stations to fulfil their obligations to NBC, in view of dwindling resources, we caution against such a large-scale clampdown of broadcast stations in disregard to security issues and the attendant consequence.
“We cannot afford the unpleasant outcome of such a media blackout at this time. We call on NBC to exercise more restraint on this issue in consideration of national security and allow for more dialogue and consultation to find a better way of dealing with the situation, he said.”
Similarly, the Nigerian Guild of Editors expressed concern over the order to shut down the broadcast stations. In a statement by its president, Mustapha Isah, and the general secretary, Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the NGE said the action, if not reversed, would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs in a country where jobs were scarce.
Reacting, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) threatened to sue NBC if they do not reverse the decision. ”The decision by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to revoke the licences of over 50 television and radio stations is a deliberate ploy to stifle media freedom, free expression and access to information in Nigeria. The decision must be immediately reversed,” it said.
We are miffed that the broadcast regulatory agency could contemplate let alone take such a drastic action, which is arbitrary, anti-democratic, draconian and antithetical to press freedom. Considering the fact that the decision is ill-timed and ill-motivated as the nation heads towards the 2023 general elections, we call on the NBC to suspend the shutdown order on the broadcast stations and explore more subtle and non-damaging means to resolve the issues at stake.