MRA requested the status of payment of each of the licensed broadcasting stations from the date of its license to date of the request
By Jude-Ken Ojinnaka
A Lagos based rights group, Media Rights Agenda (MRA) has urged the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to disclose to it the status of payment of license fees by all broadcasting stations and platforms operating in Nigeria and the amount of indebtedness of each of the stations owing license fees.
In a request made by MRA pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 and signed by MRA’s Communications Officer, Mr. Idowu Adewale, the group asked the NBC to provide it with a list of all broadcasting stations and platforms operating in Nigeria, licensed by the Commission and the amount that each of the licensed stations is required to pay as license fees.
The FOI request was addressed to the Director-General of the Commission, Mallam Balarabe Ilehah.
In the application, MRA requested the status of payment of each of the licensed broadcasting stations from the date of its license to date of the request, adding that for those licensed broadcasting stations that are indebted to the Commission, it should disclose the amount of indebtedness of each of the stations and the period covered by the amount.
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Besides, the organization said for broadcasting corporations that are owned by various State Governments, which were included in the list of broadcasting stations whose broadcast licenses were announced by the Commission by its Director-General in his press briefing on Friday, August 19, 2022, the NBC should provide a breakdown of the amount of indebtedness by each of the radio stations and each of the television stations owned by the respective State-owned broadcasting corporations.
