International Press Centre (IPC), with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Nigeria, is set to implement a project aimed at enhancing transparency and strengthening national capacities to prevent and mitigate threats hampering the integrity of information arising from the general 2023 elections.
The project is also targeted at fighting the menace of misinformation/ disinformation, fake news and hate speech through a technological tool known as the iverify system with the collaboration of multi – stakeholders, strategies and engagement.
In his speech, Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah said to ensure adequate monitoring of the broadcast airwaves, said the Commission is putting in place a State-of-the-Art system to keep the regulator’s monitoring eyes across the nooks and crannies of the country.
He disclosed the first phase of the equipment installation is ongoing at its headquarters in Abuja, but will be deployed round the 10 broadcasting zones of the country soon.
Expressing concern over the commission’s difficult working conditions, he explained that staff of the Commission used their mobile phones to record programmes on different stations across the country, adding such recordings couldn’t be kept for a long period.
“But with the new equipment, programmes would be recorded seamlessly and could be archived for as long as ten years with ease of retrieval. It will record 24-hours non-stop, whether someone is manning the equipment or not,” the DG said.
Speaking on the Commission’s lessons from the last elections, he observed because the broadcast industry is key to electioneering, politicians struggle to dominate the airwaves at all cost, adding that they use the opportunity to make hate comments.
He alleged that some politicians collude with some broadcast stations and are ready to pay the fine to let out their incendiary messages.
The DG also said, “the social media can no longer be shoved aside, insisting it must be regulated so that “we can harness its advantages in the area of freedom of speech and expression while excesses that threaten us as a people is checked with 740 terrestrial stations and others running on Pay TV, broadcasting in Nigeria.”
He also noted that a regulator must be seen to be fair at all times adding, that it is a difficult challenge to regulate the broadcast industry in Nigeria due to ownership and political inclinations.
Responding to a question on why NBC plays the role of the complainant, prosecutor and judge, Ilelah said the NBC only operates within the law of its establishment. He however said the Commission has never imposed a fine of more than N5 million on any offending broadcasting station adding that the Commission will appeal a recent court judgment preventing NBC from imposing fines.
To him, NBC plays a super role in ensuring compliance with laid down codes of conduct and practice by issuing licenses to practicing broadcasting firms and also goes as far as supervising their activities to avoid deviations.
The DG also pointed out that the NBC, while carrying out its regulatory activities, always put into consideration at all times, the overall interest of the country, public good and the peculiarities of the nation’s environment.
Ilelah also reiterated need to train and retrain broadcast operatives, which, according to him, is very important to the industry.
The NBC is the broadcast regulator of the country. The commission was set up on August 24, 1992, by Decree 38 of 1992 later amended as an act of the National Assembly by Act 55 of 1999 and now known as National Broadcasting Commission Laws of the Federation 2004, CAP N11 to among other responsibilities, regulate and control the broadcasting industry in Nigeria.
Some participants at the workshop include, Director, Broadcast Policy and Research, NBC, Mr. Matthews Achara; Executive Director, International Press Centre, Mr. Lanre Arogundade; Chief Technical Adviser, Elections, UNDP Nigeria, Deryck Fritz; Executive Secretary, Nigeria Press Council, Mr. Francis Nwosu; National President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade. Chris Isiguzo, President, Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Ms. Ladi Bala, President, Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mustapha Isah; President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Maureen Chigbo; among others.
