…Challenges NBC to justify funding

By Emmanuel Elebeke

Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, to explain the circumstances surrounding the N2.5 billion it allegedly gave to one of the signal distributors, owned by a private-sector establishment.

National Coordinator of HURIWA, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, at a press conference on Monday, expressed disappointment that such a huge fund was misapplied while the agency involved continued to run an opaque information dissemination system on such a national issue.

Onwubiko said: “The opaque nature of information dissemination from a statutory government agency such as the NBC which is yet to tell Nigerians the whole truth regarding the alleged N2.5bn it gave to a privately owned signal distributor, is worrisome.

“There are several reports alleging that the NBC may have jettisoned fairness and global regulatory best practices in its dealings with the stakeholders, particularly where it involves one of the three licensed signal distributors that were allegedly handed a N2.5bn grant for  operations when they are not government establishments.”

According to him, some observers see it as an unfortunate development that could further delay and derail the project.

Onwubiko continued, “Stakeholders in the broadcast industry believe that Nigeria would have gone far by now if some of the ripples had been avoided. The country has missed two deadlines for the switch-over, which has been put down to  normal teething problems by the NBC.

“We have resolved to send a freedom of information request to the hierarchy of NBC to demand unambiguous responses in writing to provide evidence and satisfactory reasons regarding the alleged grants of such a humongous sum to a private enterprise and under what modalities. We seek clarification about the status of the grant if any and if we are not satisfied we will proceed to the EFCC to demand forensic investigations of this damaging allegation.

“We got the information from very reliable soucres in government that indeed the sum of N2.5 billion of public funds was given to a private signal  distributor. Our worry stems from the missteps committed by the government in the power sector in which the DISCOS were gifted with billions  of naira of tax payers’ money but till date Nigerian electricity consumers are groaning under poor power supply.”

However, all efforts to get the reaction of NBC to the allegations proved abortive after series of calls and text messages to the Director General of the commission, Dr. Modibbo Kawu were not returned. Even a visit to the corporate headquarters of the commission could not yield results as the official who received Vanguard reporters, explained that the DG and top official travelled abroad on official assignment