Ex-DG Urges Review Of Law On Licensing Broadcast Media

The Federal Government
has been urged to review the law on licensing/ownership of the broadcast media to save the industry from collapse.
Dr Tom Adaba, former Director General of National Broadcasting Commission, made the call in Jos recently.
He spoke at a Two-day Workshop on Objective and Sensitive Reportage of Conflicts for Editors and Reporters.
Adaba also called for a review of licensing of broadcast media in the country by the presidency.
He added that the law on licensing the broadcast media made by the IBB regime in 1983 had become obsolete.
He said the law did not encourage professionalism as the president awarded such licenses as political patronage.
Adaba stated that new legislation was needed to back up the law for professionalism in the industry
“Licences are awarded to loyalists and not core professionals.’’
He condemned the practice where such loyalists were partisan in their media contents.
“The Federal Government should take a second look at the law on licensing of the ownership of the broadcast media to save the industry from collapse’’, he said.
Adaba also said the military handling of publicity pertaining to the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East was lacking in depth.
He said the Mike Omeri team had never shown a picture of what they tell the press concerning the war on the insurgents. “This is all wrong.’’
He attributed this to the tension that the military had in dealing with the press and could not trust it with sensitive information.