The Coalition of Civil Societies Against COVID-19 has commended the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on its efforts in the fight against the pandemic in the country.
A statement by the group in Abuja Thursday and signed by its national coordinator, Comrade James Okoronkwo, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for granting a two-month license waiver for terrestrial broadcast stations in Nigeria as a palliative to mitigate the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the broadcasting industry which has adversely affected the earnings of broadcast stations.
Okoronkwo said since the outbreak of the pandemic in Wuhan, China and subsequent spread to Nigeria four months ago, the NBC under the leadership of Professor Armstrong Idachaba has been responding proactively to COVID-19 by supporting civil society groups to deepen President Muhammadu Buhari’s onerous campaign to curb the deadly virus.
Okoronkwo said “broadcast stations are playing pivotal role in the ongoing crusade against the global pandemic,” giving kudos to the NBC management for releasing amendments to the 6th edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.
The group stressed that the essence of the amendment were the protection and insulation of the local broadcast industry from monopolistic and anti- competitive behaviours as well as the stimulation of advertising revenue into the broadcast industry.
The group chided critics for engaging in baseless and vengeful campaigns against the leadership of the NBC, saying instead of proffering solutions, one Simon Kolawole decided to deploy foul language in his recent article maliciously captioned ” Killing the Broadcast Industry Softly.”
