The Federal Government has launched a 14-member Ministerial Task Force on the Digital Switch Over (DSO) rollout across the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at the inauguration of the committee on Tuesday in Abuja.
“As you may be aware, gentlemen, the Federal Executive Council has recently approved the outstanding payments to key stakeholders in the DSO, thus removing what has constituted a roadblock to the entire process in the past three years,” Lai Mohammed said.
He disclosed that yesterday marked the third year that FG last launched the DSO in any state, which was in Osun State on February 23, 2018.
“We launched the pilot programme in Jos, Plateau State, on April 30th 2016, followed by Abuja on Dec. 22nd 2016, then Ilorin, Kwara State, on Dec. 20th 2017; Kaduna two days later on Dec. 22nd 2017, Enugu on Feb. 12th 2018 and finally, as I said earlier, Osogbo on Feb. 23rd 2018,” he disclosed.
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He disclosed that the FG does not have an excuse not to launch a DSO across the nation after the FEC approved payment with 31 states to cover He also stated that the FG found out that there is a need for less government influence in the DSO roll out, citing the need for a structure and an ecosystem that is self-sufficient and self-reliant.
“We have studied the trend and it is clear that we have to reduce government involvement in the DSO ecosystem and allow the private sector to take the lead, on purely commercial terms.
“We have studied the trend and it is clear that we have to reduce government involvement in the DSO ecosystem and allow the private sector to take the lead, on purely commercial terms.
“In order to begin the commercialization of the DSO, we need to create a structure and an ecosystem that is self-sufficient, self-reliant and able to generate revenue which will drive strategic growth in key areas,” he said.
Other factors for the DSO rollout, he mentioned include:
- The process is capable of creating over 1 million jobs over the next three years.
- The process of introducing world-class Audience Measurement and Media Monitoring to deliver on our potential 1-billion-dollar TV and Online Advertising revenue market and now we will ensure that the DSO ecosystem delivers value to the economy.
- Manufacturing alone can create between 40 and 50 thousand jobs, citing that Digitization requires all homes to have a Set-Top-Box or Smart TV. Connectivity to the Internet is also possible via a dongle attached to the boxes.
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The members of the Ministerial Task Force on the Digital Switch Over (DSO) and the organisations they represent are as follows:
1. Alhaji Lai Mohammed (Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Chairman);
2. Prof. Armstrong Idachaba (National Broadcasting Commission)
3. Engineer Edward Amana (Digiteam);
4. Dr. Tunde Adegbola (Digiteam);
5. Hajia Sa’a Ibrahim (Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria);
6. Engineer Sadeeq Musa (ITS);
7. Mr. Godfrey Ohuabunwa (Set-Top-Box Manufacturers); who is also standing in for the BON Chair
8. Dr. Lekan Fadolapo (APCON);
9 Ms. Aisha Shehu Omar (Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning);
10. Mr J. O. Attah (Nigeria Customs Service); represented here by Mr Dalhatu
11. Mr. Nnanna Ibom (Federal Ministry of Information and Culture);
12. Engineer Olusegun Yakubu (Pinnacle Communications);
13) Mr. Toyin Subair (Inview)
14) And Mr. Joe Mutah (Federal Ministry of Information and Culture) who will serve as Secretary.
What you should know
- Recall Nairametrics reported last year that Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting will need to transition to a private-sector-driven enterprise, as it is the only way to ensure that the planned settlement of outstanding debts from the project is sustainable.
- Nairametrics reported earlier this month that the Federal Economic Council gave approval for the sum of about N9.43 billion for the ministry of information to complete the digital switchover, which had previously missed the deadline set for implementation.
