President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday empowered the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to approve licences for the establishment of Community Radio stations without recourse to the Presidency.

Jonathan gave the directive in Abuja, while declaring open the eighth biennial conference of Africa Broadcasters (Africast).

represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the President stated that already, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had considered and approved the guidelines proposed by the NBC for the licensing of community radio in Nigeria.

“We have devolved to the commission, the power to consider and issue the licences without further recourse to the Presidency, provided such applicants have met all the conditions stipulated by law,” he said.

The President, however, urged journalists to “maintain professional integrity, by ensuring truth, balance and fairness in their coverage of political activities.

“That is the only way they can truly help to ensure that we achieve the desired free, fair and credible elections we all crave for in this country.’’

He also reminded the journalists, particularly the broadcasters, of the paramount place of content in their programming.

“If we as Africans must tell our story, in our own words, to the rest of the world, then we must pay close attention to the production of edifying programmes using the best available technology.

“The challenge of providing sufficient suitable content is also further underlined by the imminent transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting, which will further expand the spectrum and offer more space that needs to be filled with content,” he remarked.

According to him, in recognition of the fact that digitisation in the broadcast sector is best driven by policy, the Federal Government will soon send a bill to the National Assembly for a law that will provide the legal framework for the transition.

He expressed optimism that the law would deal with the basic issues of the signal distribution system, the licensing framework, spectrum planning, broadcast standards, training and other issues that would make the transition smooth and meaningful.

“We recognise the crucial need to successfully transit to digital broadcasting, and we shall leave no stone unturned to achieve it within the deadline,” he said.

He, however, commended the management of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for inaugurating its digital terrestrial multi-channel station, describing it as a “positive step in the digitisation of programmes.”

The President also paid tributes to the Nigerian broadcast sector for its contributions to nation building.

“Through their programmes, broadcasters have continued to entertain, educate and inform the public about happenings around them, taking elected officials to task on their responsibilities and thus fulfilling their constitutional role of holding the government accountable to the people,” he said.

Earlier, the Minister of Information and Communications, Prof Dora Akunyili, had urged all broadcast-related organisations to partner with the NBC to make Africast an industry platform, as it is being done in other parts of the world.

The minister who was represented by the Minister of State for Information, Mr Labaran Maku, asked Africast to reach out to other international conferences on the African continent as well as in Europe, Asia and America.

According to her, this will create a cooperation arrangement that will help place the conference more firmly and prominently on the global broadcast conferences’ agenda.

The three-day conference is being attended by participants across Africa, Europe, the U.S., the Middle East and Asia.