NBC illegally approved 16 radio stations— Group
A civil rights organisation under the aegis of Coalition Against Corruption and Bad Governance on Saturday said it uncovered 16 illegal radio licences approved by the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mallam Kawu Modibbo.
The organisation alleged that while six of them were for his private firm, Word, Sound and Vision Multimedia Limited; another 10 were approved for companies which did not apply or were not on the list approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Chairman of the group, Alhaji Toyin Raheem, in a statement, claimed that a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation was one of the 10 beneficiaries of the radio licences recently issued by the NBC.
The group demanded that the Presidency should direct its anti-corruption agencies to investigate the findings.
But when contacted, the spokesperson for the NBC, Ekanem Antia, told SUNDAY PUNCH that the allegations were not new.
He said, “It is an allegation and the allegation is not new. That same group had petitioned the ICPC. I wouldn’t want to make any comment now. Let the relevant anti-graft agencies do their investigation and I wouldn’t want to preempt their findings.”
Raheem threatened that should the Federal Government and its anti-graft agencies fail to act by probing the allegations, the group “will be left with no other option but to go to court.”
Meanwhile, the NBC has said barely 24 hours after restoring the radio and television licences of Daar Communications Plc, its stations, Africa Independent Television and Raypower 100.5FM have continued to breach the broadcasting code.
The NBC, in a statement on Saturday, said, “The National Broadcasting Commission wishes to take note of the ex parte order granted by the Federal High Court Abuja division on June 7, 2019 to Daar Communications Plc.
“The ex parte order was sequel upon a motion ex parte dated May 30, 2019 and filed on May 3, 2019 by Daar Communications Plc. This was before the directive from the NBC suspending the broadcasting licence of Daar Communications Plc on June 6, 2019.
“The commission also notes the continued breach of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code by Daar Communications Plc.”
(PUNCH)
