The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) today came hard on 52 broadcast media houses in Nigeria as it revoked their licenses and ordered them to shut down in the next 24 hours.
The Director-General of NBC, Malam Balarabe Ilelah, who made the pronouncement in Abuja said affected media houses are owing the Commission over N2.6 billion in licensing fees since 2015.
Ilelah directed NBC offices nationwide to collaborate with security agencies to ensure immediate compliance. He explained that in May 2022, the commission published in the national dailies, the list of licensees that are indebted to NBC, granted them two weeks to renew their licenses and pay their debts or consider their licenses revoked and frequencies withdrawn.
Affected stations
- Africa Independent Television (AIT)
- Anambra State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Bayelsa State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Beat FM (Megalectrics LTD),
- Bomay Broadcasting Services Ltd
- Borno State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Classic FM (Pinkt Nigeria Ltd),
- Classic FM (Pinkt Nigeria Ltd),
- Classic TV (Pinkt Nigeria Ltd),
- Cooper Communications Ltd,
- Cross River State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Crowther FM (Crowther Communications Ltd),
- Family Love FM (Multimesh Broadcasting Co. Ltd).
- Family FM (Kalaks Investments Nig. Ltd),
- Greetings FM (Greetings Media Ltd),
- Gombe State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Imo State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Jigawa State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Kaduna State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Katsina State Broadcasting Corporation.
- Kebbi State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Lagos State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Linksman International Ltd,
- MITV (Murhi International Group Ltd),
- Niger State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Ondo State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Osun State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Radio Jeremi (Radio Jeremi Ltd),
- Raypower FM;
- Rhythm FM (Silverbird Communications Ltd),
- Rivers State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Rock City FM (Boot Communications Ltd),
- Silverbird Television,
- Sokoto State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Splash FM (West Midlands Ltd),
- Space FM (Creazioni Nig. Ltd),
- Tao FM (Ovidi Communications Ltd),
- Vibes FM (Vibes Communication ltd)
- Wave FM (South Atlantic Media Ltd),
- WE FM (Kings Broadcasting Ltd),
- Yobe State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Zamfara State Broadcasting Corporation,
- Zuma FM (Zuma FM Ltd),
What the NBC DG is saying
- Speaking with journalists in Abuja on Friday, Ilelah said there was no political undertone in revoking the license of the debtor-broadcast stations. He said: “Three months after the publication of the debtors’ list, some licensees are yet to pay their outstanding debts, in contravention of the NBC Act CAP N11, laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, particularly section 10 (a) of the third schedule of the Act.
- “In view of this development, the continued operation of the debtor stations is illegal and constitutes a threat to national security. Therefore, after due consideration, NBC hereby announces the revocation of the licenses of the under-listed stations and give them 24 hours to their operations.”
Speaking further, the NBC DG said all broadcast stations who have not renewed their licenses for the current duration are advised to do so within the next 30 days to avoid sanctions.
- “The Commission also call on all IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and all other broadcast stations that are streaming online to register with the Commission to avoid disconnection. Broadcasters should note that having a DTT or FM license does not warrant a broadcaster to stream online; they are two different licenses,” he noted.
He added that NBC had been in talks with the media houses for more than a year, but they refused to revert.