The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the federal government would support the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) to attain superior digitalisation to enable it to compete globally.

During his working visit to the headquarters of NTA on Tuesday in Abuja, Mr Idris said NTA remained the most precious station in entertaining and enlightening millions of Nigerians over the years.

According to him, the effort put in by the station to consistently deliver balanced and unbiased news has gone a long way to edify Nigerians and move the country forward.

“I am pleased with your digital advancement, the quality of studios and the capacity to produce movies. NTA has recorded tremendous process, but the best of NTA is yet to come.

“However, the modernisation of the digitalisation of NTA has to be improved. I want NTA to become the destination point of other TV stations in the country.

“I want NTA to stand shoulder to shoulder with the best TV stations in the world. I would like to assure you that I will mobilise the resources needed to improve the NTA,” Mr Idris said.

Speaking, the director-general of NTA, Salihu Abdulhamid-Dembos, said the minister’s role was crucial in disseminating accurate and timely information to the country’s citizens.

He listed the station’s achievements as implementing modern management techniques and technology to improve workflow and enhancement, staff training and development of programmes.

Others were upgrading broadcasting equipment and technology for higher signal quality, a network of reporters and correspondents with the establishment of bureaus in the UK, U.S., Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa.

Mr Abdulhamid-Dembos also said the station had leveraged social media and online platforms for real-time news dissemination.

The NTA boss, however, explained that the station faced challenges such as funding constraints, insufficient infrastructure, competition, a decrease in advertising revenue and a low level of technological advancements.

(NAN)