The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has temporarily suspended the shutdown of the indebted broadcast stations across the country.

The director-general of NBC, Balarabe Ilelah, disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

“The commission has decided to temporarily suspend the shutdown of the indebted broadcast stations all over the country,” Mr Ilelah said.

He said the suspension followed a meeting held with executives of the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and other critical Stakeholders in the industry.

On August 19, NBC revoked the operational licences of AIT/Ray Power FM (DAAR Communication L.td., Silverbird TV Network and 50 other stations over N2.6 billion debts.

The commission ordered the affected stations to shut down in the next 24 hours and directed NBC offices nationwide to collaborate with the security agencies to ensure immediate compliance.

Consequently, on August 20, the commission extended the period in which all outstanding debts are to be paid from 24 hours to Wednesday.

It explained that the extension of the enforcement date was due to an appeal by the affected broadcast stations, relevant stakeholders, public-spirited individuals and organisations.

However, the NBC boss said following the ultimatum, the commission received positive responses from the debtor licensees, including big players in the broadcast industry.

He appreciated BON, the affected broadcast stations and stakeholders for their interventions.

“We specifically thank DAAR Communications Ltd. and Silverbird TV/Rhythm FM for their responses,” Mr Ilelah added.

He said the commission was not unaware of the difficulties the shutdown would have caused the operators and other stakeholders.

The DG stated that the commission would always operate within the National Broadcasting Commission Act, Cap. N11, Laws of the Federation, 2004. 

(NAN)