Senator Anyim Ude, the former Senator representing Ebonyi South Senatorial Zone has said that the deregulation of the broadcast industry has positively impacted on Nigeria.
Ude, former Director-General, Imo and Abia Broadcasting Corporations, said this on Thursday in Abakaliki.
He said that the deregulation had resulted in the opening of the broadcast space.
“The establishment of several private broadcasting stations across the country has created thousands of jobs which have both economic and social effects on the society.
“The deregulation has also ensured liberalisation and broader coverage of news and other broadcast contents especially from the rural areas,” he said.
He said that the de-regulation had ensured the increased training of staff members by both the government and private media as both strove to meet expectations of the masses.
“It has created more opportunities for employees to excel in the industry, harnessing and bringing in their creative impetus.
“It has also ensured that artistes and freelancers have opportunities of contributing to the industry’s growth and earning income to survive,” he said.
The former Commissioner in Ebonyi during the military era noted that the de-regulation had also regulated the media contents of broadcasters and ensuring that relevant laws were observed.
“The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria were formed during my active days in the industry.
“I hold the view that the military era witnessed more adherences to relevant broadcast regulations and liberty to disseminate information as supposed.
“You could hardly see a press secretary to the governor, then, determining how a broadcast content will be disseminated unlike what is witnessed presently,” he said.
He also noted that the de-regulation had greatly increased the capacities of private media houses as they tried to stay afloat.
“Operating private broadcasting outfits is capital intensive. So, such outfits should strive to enhance their revenue bases and improve their media contents,” he said.
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In a related development, Mr Abia Onyike, a former Commissioner for Information in Ebonyi, spoke on the gains of liberalising the broadcast media.
He enjoined journalists to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the recent licencing of many radio and television stations in the country to improve the society.
Onyike, also former Deputy National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), commended the Federal Government for granting the licences to prospective media entrepreneurs.
“I am particularly mindful of the fact that the opening up of several electronic broadcast houses would ultimately provide enormous employment openings for professional journalists in the country.
“I commend President Muhammadu Buhari for granting the licences to the prospective media entrepreneurs.
“It is a boost to information dissemination and awareness creation in Nigeria.
“The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria and NUJ should raise the standard of broadcasting and news reporting in the new electronic media organs,” Onyike emphasised.
He also stressed that training and retraining of journalists should not be compromised in the running of media houses in Nigeria.
“Rather, such training and retraining should be intensified so as to ensure effective delivery amongst media practitioners in Nigeria,’’ Onyike added.
The NBC, in a statement issued recently by its Director-General, Balarabe Ilelah, announced that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the establishment of 159 new radio and television stations in Nigeria.
In it, Ilelah said: “following the approval granted by the President, NBC has released the list of 159 licences granted to companies, communities, and institutions of higher learning.
“The commission was established by the NBC ACT, Cap. N11, Laws of the Federation 2004, with the mandate to regulate and control broadcasting in Nigeria.
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“Today, there are 625 functional broadcast stations in Nigeria,” he said.
Ilelah, during the presentation of the provisional licences to the companies, organisations, and institutions of higher learning at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, urged the stations to use their organs to promote national cohesion and unity.
