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• Specialists kick towards five-year advance fee for renewing licences
• NBC can not padlock the air, insists Akinfeleye
• It’s too costly, BON scribe says
• Charges not exorbitant, costs minimal, Ilelah clarifies
Although the Nationwide Broadcasting Fee’s (NBC) deadline for fee of money owed owed by broadcast homes, amounting to N2.66 billion, is as we speak, stakeholders within the business have, nevertheless, known as for a downward evaluation of the licence charges, including that the five-year advance fee technique makes it tough for a lot of stations.
The Guardian gathered that previously, licence charge for community stations was mounted by bidding. Silverbird obtained its licence for N500 million. Daar Communication (AIT), which misplaced to Silverbird, was later allotted community licence, making it the third after NTA and Silverbird. It was learnt that NBC later lowered the charge to N250 million.
Following this improvement, for radio, Rhythm FM and Ray Energy FM got here on board after Federal Radio Company of Nigeria (FRCN).
The Guardian gathered that through the early historical past of licensing, state-owned broadcast stations lined solely their states, whereas business stations lined their respective zonal territories, often comprising three to 5 states. So, state stations had single states and paid per state, which have been N1 million every year per state, and N5 million for 5 years.
Additionally, the price of renewal for state stations was stated to be N5 million for 5 years, which when damaged down, stood at N1 million every year.
It was gathered that whereas charges for personal radio in Class A areas, which embody Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and Abuja was N20 million for a five-year interval, and renewable after 5 years for N15 million, the charge for different areas outdoors these 4 cities was N15 million for similar interval, renewable after 5 years for N10 million.
This, nevertheless, has modified, as licences are actually metropolis based mostly, so, business stations are actually looking for licences just for cities the place they know are commercially worthwhile. State radio stations are mandated to cowl their states, whether or not viable or not, which is why each state has a radio station.
Professor of Mass Communication and Africa’s Consultant on the World Journalism Schooling Congress (WJEC), Ralph Akinfeleye, stated NBC ought to cut back the charge by 50 per cent.
In response to him, “NBC code should even be reviewed. NBC can’t be insensitive to the present development. They have to at all times have interaction personal operators so that individuals is not going to learn meanings to their choices. Rush hour choice is injurious.”
The media professional stated: “They need to perceive that in a democracy, it’s give and take. NBC can not padlock the air. I’ve informed them earlier than that they aren’t regulators, however merchants. They didn’t prefer it however that’s what they’re.”
For him, the timing is unsuitable and punishment is harsh. “The affected stations must be given time and fee plans,” he stated.
He added that the regulators must be extra versatile in enforcement due to the working surroundings. “The legislation is there and the operators ought to obey the legislation. We now have heard the operators complaining concerning the excessive value and harsh surroundings. There must be extra stakeholders have interaction on this, in any other case, authorities can be perceived as having different ulterior motives particularly on this political season. The operators must also give you a joint complete plan on how they intend to cope with the difficulty.”
ALREADY, a Lagos-based rights group, the Socio-Financial Rights and Accountability Undertaking (SERAP) and Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), yesterday, filed a lawsuit towards President Muhammadu Buhari and the NBC over “the arbitrary use of the NBC Act and broadcasting code to threaten, revoke and shut down 53 broadcast stations within the nation for allegedly failing to resume their licences.”
Joined within the go well with as defendant is Mr Lai Mohammed, Minister of Info and Tradition. The NBC had final week revoked the licences of the 53 broadcast stations and threatened to close down their operations inside 24 hours over alleged N2.6 billion debt. The NBC has now requested the stations “to pay all excellent licence charges on or earlier than August 23, 2022 or shut down by 12a.m. on August 24.”
Within the go well with quantity FHC/L/CS/1582/2022 filed on the Federal Excessive Court docket, Lagos, SERAP and NGE are asking the court docket to find out “whether or not part 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the Nationwide Broadcasting Act utilized by NBC to threaten revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shut them down is inconsistent and incompatible with freedom of expression and entry to info.”
SERAP and NGE are asking the court docket for “a declaration that part 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the Nationwide Broadcasting Act utilized by NBC to threaten to revoke the licences of 53 broadcast stations and to close down the printed stations is unconstitutional and illegal, because it violates freedom of expression.”
The appellants are looking for “an order of interim injunction restraining them, their brokers or privies from revoking the licences of 53 broadcast stations within the nation and shutting down their operations, pending the listening to and dedication of the movement on discover filed contemporaneously on this go well with.”
No date has been mounted for listening to of the go well with, which was filed on behalf of SERAP and NGE by their lawyer, Kolawole Oluwadare.
Talking with The Guardian, Secretary Basic of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Yemisi Bamgbose, said that the licence charge, particularly for stations with community licence “is simply too exorbitant, and to compound the issue, they pay upfront.”
He additionally stated, “the concept of paying upfront must be seemed into. Allow us to assume that for a starter, to indicate dedication that you’re critical, similar to if you wish to lease a home, they ask you to pay two years upfront, however instantly after the expiration of the 2 years, you proceed to pay on yearly foundation.”
Bamigbose stated: “It’s true that in the event you pay for 5 years, the belief is that you must have the ability to save for an additional 5 years, however who says {that a} station goes to be in existence in 5 years time that you simply ask them to pay 5 years upfront? If you happen to hear that AIT is owing N500 million, that N500 million is supposed for 5 years and it’s 5 years upfront.
To me, it’s exorbitant and wishes a evaluation. I’ve been discussing with members of BON that there’s have to evaluation this.”
In response to Bamgbose, the price of working radio and TV stations is absolutely very excessive. He stated while you take a look at the business stations, the associated fee ranges from N3 million per 12 months, and you might be anticipated to pay N15 million upfront, that one too, while you juxtapose it with the financial scenario within the nation as we speak, understanding full nicely that there is no such thing as a shortcut to working a radio or TV station apart from being on energy 24 hours, both by means of public electrical energy provide or a generator.
He continued, “we’re conscious of the epileptic nature of our public energy provide, which suggests, all stations are closely counting on generator and you understand that you simply use diesel. In the present day, in the event you decide the price of diesel, there is no such thing as a station that may maintain it. Even the Federal stations can’t. For any station to maintain 24-hour transmission, that station should be spending over N1 million on every day foundation.”
The BON scribe additionally stated the printed media panorama is not viable. To him, “adverts are diminishing on a regular basis and corporations are relocating out of Nigeria to different nations and the advertisers are not meting out adverts and media consumers are not in a position to purchase airtime to advertise their merchandise.
“Once more, social media is now taking out of the little advert income. Once you take a look at it and put all that collectively, it’s not that the stations should not prepared to pay however the truth of the matter is that each kobo they realise is spent on operations and the income is dwindling.”
OBSERVING that there was sequence of complaints from completely different stakeholders on the price of licence and contemplating what is going on not solely in Nigeria, however globally, Director Basic of the NBC, Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, insisted that the charges should not actually exorbitant.
In response to Ilelah, “what we’re charging them is simply N1 million every year, which is N5 million for 5 years. I can’t perceive why a state can not pay N1 million every year, however on the similar time, the identical individuals are paying thousands and thousands to personal stations throughout the nation and outdoors the nation for them to cowl their actions. The problem is, we must always look inward and assist the native media homes.
“You’ll be able to agree with me that it’s not an excessive amount of. I’ve been speaking to them, it’s not going to be enterprise as traditional, we’ve to stay as much as our personal obligations, you got here to the Fee, you paid N15 million to get the licence after which you might be unable to pay N1 million afterwards and also you don’t pay yearly, you renew after 5 years with N5 million (which is N1 million yearly in the event you divide it). Nonetheless they can’t pay, I don’t know why individuals are crying over this.”
He famous that through the COVID-19, authorities gave 60 per cent low cost to all the printed stations to allow them offset the gathered debt however most of them did not reap the benefits of the chance.
“We stated, in case your cash was N1 million, take 60 per cent out of that N1 million and pay the stability of 40 per cent however they refused to make use of that chance to pay and we gave them a window of just about a 12 months, that is nearly two years, however they nonetheless refused to return and benefit from the privilege,” the NBC boss stated.
Reminded that aside from the extreme affect of COVID-19 on the media business, the excessive operational value as a result of diesel, trade price and different elements pose critical challenges to the business, the NBC boss stated, “this debt shouldn’t be what we’re asking them to pay this 12 months or final 12 months, it’s an gathered debt for 10 years when diesel was between N90-N100.00 and now they’re saying they can’t pay due to excessive value of diesel, you can not use diesel as an excuse as a result of it’s not a debt of this 12 months or final 12 months, it’s an gathered debt of seven to 10 years. The way in which ahead is for us to do what we’re supposed to take action that the Fee can work.”
Talking in the same vein, IPC’s Press Freedom Officer, Melody Lawal, known as on NBC to train warning and make sure that it exhausts engagement channels earlier than wielding a stick that won’t solely result in hundreds of job losses but additionally shrink the data dissemination area.
To her, NBC ought to cease performing as a income producing company that’s unconcerned concerning the enterprise surroundings of broadcast stations.
She added that NBC has repeatedly constituted itself to the accuser, the prosecutor and the decide in its personal case.
Prof. Anthony Kila of Centre Director, Centre for Worldwide Superior and Skilled Research (CIAPS), harassed that regulators ought to contemplate revoking of licenses as a really final and dramatic possibility.
He argued that as an arm of presidency, regulators ought to take heed to their actions, noting that it’s simple to at the least suspect, if not think about that this motion is aimed toward gagging impartial media.
President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Chris Isiguzo, informed The Guardian that quite than embark on complete clampdown or revocation of licenses, NBC and by extension the federal government ought to discover a approach of granting a type of rebate or waiver to those stations, including that the motivation may function a bailout of some kind to the affected stations.
He said that although no person is justifying the truth that these broadcast stations are indebted to the NBC however on the similar time, “we should not lose sight of the worldwide financial actuality and revocation shouldn’t be an possibility, at the least for now.”
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