JUST IN: President Buhari Appoints New NBC Director-General
- President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, June 11, made a major appointment in the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
- The commission, by the president's directive, now has Balarabe Shehu-Ilelah as its new director-general
- The new development was disclosed by Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture
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Abuja - The Nation is reporting that President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Balarabe Shehu-Ilelah as the new director-general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
Ilelah’s appointment, approved by President Muuhamamdu Buhari on Friday, June 11, will last for the next five years, Daily Nigerian reports.
In a statement made available to Legit.ng, through Segun Adeyemi, special assistant to the president (media), the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the appointment in Abuja on Friday.
Source: Facebook
Apply and obtain broadcast licence
Meanwhile, the NBC had ordered all social media platforms to obtain its license as a condition for operating in the country.
The order, which also affects all broadcast stations, was issued in a statement on Thursday, June 10, signed by the commission's former director-general, Armstrong Idachaba.
Quoting the NBC's Act CAP N11, Laws of the Federation 2004, Section 2(1)(b)), Idachaba warned that stations and online platforms which fail to obtain the license will be regarded as illegal in Nigeria.
The commission's former boss said:
“The commission shall have the responsibility of receiving, processing, and considering applications for the establishment, ownership or operation of radio and television stations including cable television services, Direct Satellite Broadcast (DSB), and any medium of broadcasting.
“The National Broadcasting Commission hereby directs every Online Broadcast Service provider and social media platforms operating within the Nigerian state to apply and obtain broadcast licence for their service(s)."
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Broadcasting stations in Nigeria to deactivate Twitter accounts
Before this, all the broadcast stations in Nigeria were on Monday, June 7, ordered to deactivate their Twitter handles by the NBC. Ekanem Antia, head of public affairs, disclosed this in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
Part of the statement read:
“Consequent on the suspension of Twitter operations in Nigeria by the Federal Government over the persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining the corporate existence of Nigeria, the National Broadcasting Commission directs all Broadcasting Stations in Nigeria to suspend the patronage of Twitter immediately."
Source: Legit.ng
