The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has suspended the revocation of the operating licenses of 52 broadcast stations following the intervention of the Nigerian Chapter of the International Press Institute (IPI).
Among these stations are African Independent Television (AIT), Silverbird Television, and 50 others.
But the commission gave all the affected stations till 6 pm on Tuesday, August 23 to pay up all accumulated licensing fees,
Any station that fails to meet the fresh deadline stands the risk of being shut down by midnight on August 24th, 2022.
It was also learned that the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) may summon an emergency meeting of its members tomorrow to design “a payment template by defaulting stations to present to NBC.”
In revoking the licenses on Friday, the commission ordered the stations off air beginning this Saturday, citing Section 10(a) of the 3rd Schedule of the National Broadcasting Commission Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
The provision says, “10. A license may be revoked by the Commission in the following cases, that is (a) where the prescribed fee has not been paid on the due date…”
A statement by IPI Nigeria President, Musikilu Mojeed yesterday said the organization engaged the Ministry of Information and Culture, the NBC, and the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) to explore an amicable resolution of the dispute.
