NBC cautions broadcast stations against inciting jingles

CAC to partner IoDs on corporate governance

THE National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has cautioned electronic media in the country against airing inciting jingles ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

  The Zonal Director of the NBC, Mrs. Franca Aiyetan, who gave the warning during an interview with reporters in Ilorin, Kwara State, said that any broadcast station that airs abusive jingles or advertisements would be sanctioned either by fine or outright closure.

  She, therefore, urged the broadcast stations to be more responsive and proactive in the discharge of their duties and should not allow themselves to be bought over by politicians.

  Aiyetan, who is the Zonal Director of NBC in charge of Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger and the Federal capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, said that the commission had organised various workshops and training programmes for broadcasters on the need to abide by the NBC codes.

  According to her, the social media platform is not practising professional journalism and advised against relying on all information from the social media.

  She appealed to states that are yet to key into the digital process to do so, saying that digitisation would create room for clarity of signals and increase in channels.

  Aiyetan commended the efforts of the Plateau and Ekiti states’ governments in this direction and equally praised the efforts of the Kwara State Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Kwara) and Kwara Television Service for working assiduously to equally key into the digitisation process.

  In another development, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has said it would collaborate with the Institute of Directors, Centre for Corporate Governance (IoD,CCG) to institutionalise corporate governance in Nigeria in order to sanitise business environment and boost entrepreneurship and investment drive in Nigeria. 

  This pledge came as the institute, led by its Vice President, Ahmed Rufai, embarked on a working visit to the Commission in Abuja over the weekend to familiarise its members with the activities of the commission.

  The Registrar-General of the Commission, Bello Mahmud, said that the Commission was repositioning itself to operate in a manner transparent enough for every Nigerian to see according to global best practices. 

  In a statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs, Churchill Williams, the registrar-general said that the Institute is one body the Commission would be willing to align with in order to deliver on its mandate to the people.

  In his remarks, Rufai stated that the Centre for Corporate Governance is an arm of the Institute established to ensure good corporate governance by directors of companies among other functions, adding that the visit was to partner with the Commission, particularly in the area of improving corporate governance among other matters.