Without prejudice to the ongoing legal tussle on the right of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to shut down broadcast stations deemed to have run foul of the law, we daresay the parties should explore conciliation. What are the facts? The commission had, on August 19, ordered 53 television and radio stations to cease operating owing to failure to pay due fees. The stations were both public and private, including some state-owned stations and pioneer private broadcast organisations.
The stations and those sympathetic to them publicly protested the measure, claiming it was too harsh given the economic situation in the country. Many of them have been having difficulty paying staff salaries and generating content and, thus, think government should understand why they were unable to fulfill their obligations under the NBC Act.
But the NBC contends that payment of annual renewal fees is a legal requirement to operate in the country that could and should not be waived. It regards the failure to pay as willful and a flagrant infraction of the law that ought not to be condoned.
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has since approached the Federal High Court in Abuja to strike down the NBC order as unconstitutional. Joined by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), SERAP wants the power of the NBC to shut down broadcast stations in the country in Section 10 of the NBC Act revoked. The court has since granted an interim order suspending the licence revocation order pending when the interlocutory injunction sought by the plaintiffs would be argued on notice.
As the matter is before a court of competent jurisdiction, we would not be going into the merit of the case by both sides. However, we call on both sides to explore other means of reaching an amicable solution to the dispute. It cannot be denied that the Act had been in existence since 2004 and had been invoked many times in applying sanctions on television and radio stations. Some had been made to pay fines for various infractions at various times.
It cannot be denied also that the stations derive the power to operate from the licences granted them by the commission and both parties operate under the law. Questions that could be asked include whether the 53 stations had been paying the fees in previous years under the same law. And, what is the situation with stations that have been regularly meeting their obligations?
It is international best practice that such licences be renewed as prescribed by law. We call on the NBC to invite the stations for discussion. Since the N2.66b outstanding accrued over the years, payment could be spread in a way that would be found convenient for the parties. It is a notorious fact that the economic milieu is inclement and advertising patronage is not really forthcoming.
Rather than wield the big stick, the Federal Government, acting through the NBC, should consider the overall interest of the people who would be denied education, information and entertainment should the licences be revoked. The stations are tools of mobilising citizens for the public good.
The legal route is windy and tortuous. Going that way might then not help much in this instance. We therefore call on stakeholders, including professional associations, trade unions, veterans in the industry and eminent Nigerians to wade in to achieve peace in the industry.