NBC Gives Defaulting Stations September 9 Deadline to Renew Licences

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has given September 9, 2023 deadline to broadcasting stations to liquidate their liabilities or risk revocation.

Specifically, the regulatory agency demanded license renewal debtors and defaulters pay 2.5 per cent yearly income remittance.

Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, director general, NBC, decried poor compliance by stations that have failed to remit statutory dues.

The DG NBC was addressing practitioners and media owners at a stakeholders’ meeting in Kano,

Commenting on litigation by civil society organisations challenging NBC’s power to fine broadcast stations, Asukwo Unyu , head of Legal Unit, said three court judgments were secured in favour of NBC.

He, however, described the ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the FCT division of the Federal High Court, which relegated NBC’s powers to fine broadcast stations, as default judgment.

Ilelah, who said many broadcast stations were yet to meet their mandates, disclosed readiness to issue stiffer penalties.

He said, henceforth, indebted stations who fail to meet the ultimatum would be considered illegal operators and saboteurs of the national economy.

He added: “None payment of license fees means that the broadcast station is not permitted by law to be on air. For over 20 years, the commission has not reviewed its license fees, yet the licensees have reneged on their financial obligations to the commission. This has greatly affected operations of the commission, considering the fact that it does not receive any budgetary allocation from the government.”

Reacting to NBC’s position, media managers appealed for a review of the ultimatum, which they considered unrealistic. They also sought permission of the regulator to service their debts through payment restructuring.