CELEBRATING 30 YEARS OF BROADCAST DEREGULATION IN NIGERIA.
The National Broadcasting Commission changed into installed via way of means of an Act of the National Assembly signed into regulation on August 24, 1992 beneathneath the Ibrahim Babangida management thru Decree 38 of the 1992 charter with the number one mandate to provoke and sell personal possession of broadcasting in Nigeria; after near sixty years of presidency sole possession of the enterprise.
The Commission’s Mission is to, “evolve described requirements in all elements of broadcasting, to correctly license, reveal and modify an surroundings that encourages funding and improvement of first-rate programming and generation for a possible enterprise that competes favourably withinside the international facts society.”
In addition, become the rate to the NBC to expand and adjust the enterprise in any respect levels.
The Decree No.38 of 1992 (now an act of parliament No. 38) which installed the Commission turned into later amended through Decree fifty five of 1999, (now an act of parliament No. fifty five).
Mr. Peter Enahoro became appointed because the first Chairman of the Board of the Commission, whilst Prof. Tom Adaba is the primary Director General. Prof. Adaba served from 1992 – 1999.
In formulating a appropriate operating record for the law of the Broadcast Industry as empowered through the Act, the Commission sourced for steerage from Federal Communications Communication (FCC) in United States of America, Office of Communications (OFCOM), United Kingdom, and different applicable Organisations, in addition to Stakeholders withinside the Industry.
The principal venture of the Board turned into to installation an administrative shape and framework for the Commission. The Government went for younger colourful people with broadcast and Engineering background, who will develop the Commission and for years, the Commission have been capable of produce maximum of its management from within.
At inception in 1992, the National Broadcasting Commission had its headquarters on the antique National Assembly Complex, Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) Lagos, Lagos State, it then moved its Headquarter to Abuja in 1998 following the Federal Government’s directives to all Ministries and Government parastatals to relocate their Headquarters to the FCT.
In July 1999, Mall. Nasir Danladi Bako, changed into appointed the second one Director General of the Commission. In November, 2002, Mall. Bako voluntarily retired to pursue different endeavours.
Dr. Silas Babajiya Yisa, the then Director, Engineering, NBC, took over from Mall. Danladi Bako in 2002. He occupied the workplace till 2006 while he changed into changed via way of means of Mr. Bayo Atoyebi, a then Director, Research and Planning, in an Acting ability.
Engr. Abayomi Olaiya Bolarinwa, a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, and previous Director, Engineering, NBC, become appointed Director General in 2006 through the Obasanjo Administration. He took over from Mr. Bayo Atoyebi and served thru to 2013.
In 2013, Mr. Emeka Mba turned into appointed the Director General. Mr Mba, an astute expert in Broadcast marketing, accelerated the scope and ability of the Commission. He served up until 2016. He turned into succeeded via way of means of Mall. Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, a conversation expert, in May 25th, 2016.
Prof. Armstrong Aduku Idachaba became appointed through the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to supervise the affairs of the Commission from February 14th 2020. On Friday, eleventh June, 2021, Mall. Balarabe Shehu Ilelah assumed workplace because the noticeable Director General until date.
The NBC commenced with five departments. Today, the Commission is made-up of eight Directorates, namely:
a) Office of the Secretary to the Commission
b) Broadcast Monitoring
c) Broadcast Policy and Research
d) Investigation and Enforcement
e) Finance and Accounts
f) Engineering and Technology
g) Human Resource & Administration
h) Public Affairs
The Legal Department, Internal Audit and Procurement gadgets are beneathneath the workplace of the Director General.
Presently, the Commission has 10 Zonal places of work and 27 State workplaces. Today we’ve got a complete of 683 Terrestrial broadcast stations in Nigeria, and nevertheless counting.
The beyond 30 years has been eventful. In among time, the Commission has effectively performed its predominant features of licensing, tracking and regulating the whole broadcasting enterprise in Nigeria.
By the deregulation, the printed media mechanically have become divided into wide classes of: Public and Private owned media. While the general public encompass all federal and state-owned radio and tv stations, the non-public media consist of all radio and tv stations owned and controlled through personal entities. Subsequently, Community broadcasting turned into brought as a 3rd tier of broadcasting.
One main milestone changed into the formula of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. This turned into first posted in 1993, to function the manual to manual broadcast operations in Nigeria. So a ways, six (6) Editions were posted. The Sixth Edition became posted in 2019.
Currently, the Commission is engaged in a first-rate mission: The Digital Switch-over (DSO). As a long way lower back as 2006, all cable licensees, Direct-to-Home, this is the Satellite carrier providers, had long past virtual.
The DSO assignment commenced with the charter of the Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC) through the then President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2009 and switch-over time limits have been overlooked because then: June 17th, 2012 and January 1st, 2015.
Following those apparently disappointments, the Commission girded its loins and restrategised to make sure the first-rate Digital migration plan for the country.
On June thirtieth, 2014, the NBC flagged off the pilot section of the DSO task in Jos, Plateau State. This changed into formally released via way of means of the Hon. Minister for Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
On December 22nd, 2016, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), represented through the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, released the DSO rollout for the Federal Capital Territory.
Today, citizens of Abuja now experience approximately 30 virtual tv channels whilst Jos has accelerated from 15 to extra than 20 channels. This first section of the Digital Switchover took the Commission to Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, and Osun States, wherein alerts of Terrestrial Broadcasting Stations had been switched directly to the Digital Television systems for the advantages of the visitors in the ones locations.
The Commission kicked off the second one section of the Digital Switch Over on April thirtieth 2021 with Lagos State. Kano and Port Harcourt have additionally been switched onto the virtual terrestrial tv structures.
Recently the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, supervised the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among Integrated Televisions Service (ITS) and NTA Startimes on Monday, fifteenth August, 2022, the efforts to fast-ahead the shipping of virtual dividends has been boosted.
The Commission, among different initiatives, instituted the NBC’s flagship programme `AFRICAST’ – a biennial convention of African broadcasters. This is an worldwide convention of Africa Broadcasters, which has been organised with the aid of using the Commission when you consider that 1996 with the aim of supplying a platform for the evaluation and assessment of Africa’s broadcast views in family members to the International quality practices and requirements.
The Commission at its twenty third anniversary in 2015, additionally reached any other milestone with the advent of the Annual Lecture Series. The Annual Lecture, which holds each August, gives the platform for discussing current socio-political problems withinside the country.
As we have fun 30 years of Broadcast guidelines in Nigeria, the Commission pledge to maintain in its efforts at growing a healthful broadcasting surroundings, sanitise the enterprise of contents that can reason crisis, conflicts, and divergencies amongst our people, at the same time as unswervingly, running in the barriers of the Act organising it.
Through thick and thin, the Broadcast Industry has endured to develop and competes favourably with worldwide practice. As the Commission attends 30 years of deregulation in Nigeria, we reassure Nigerians of the enforcement and preservation of fine effect thru Quality broadcasting.
NBC: “YOUR RIGHT TO QUALITY BROADCASTING”
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