Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mallam Balarabe Ilelah, has announced that 25 broadcast stations have been sanctioned for violating the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and the Electoral Act in their coverage of the 2023 general elections and issued a “final warning” to 16 other stations for various offences that they are alleged to have committed.
He stated this on March 15, 2023, while addressing Journalists in Abuja on the outcome of its monitoring exercise before, during and after the Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
He noted that the affected stations, despite being aware of the provisions of the NBC Code and Electoral Act, deliberately dished out partisan contents 24-hours before the elections and also announced election results before the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s official announcement.
In his statement, the NBC Director-General, said that during the presidential election, the Commission found that one station had broadcast the results before INEC announced them, which goes against Section 5.33 of the NBC code.
He added that 17 stations were sanctioned for broadcasting partisan content after the 24-hour stoppage time, and four stations were sanctioned for making divisive comments.
Mallam Ilela, pointed out that additional 16 broadcast stations were warned and urged to be more professional as the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections were approaching.
He disclosed that within a few days of the governorship elections, broadcast stations must realize that there could be no platforms to broadcast contents if the country disintegrates as a result of unguarded utterances from their platforms.
He implored the media to guard the nation’s diversity and embrace its strength by using their vibrant platforms to deliberately promote peace.
The NBC Director General warned that the Commission would not hesitate to sanction any erring broadcast station that violates the NBC Code before, during and after the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections.
