Why NBC closed down AIT, Raypower, Silverbird, others

By allcitynews.ng

In apparent bid to recover the debts being owed, the apex broadcast regulatory body National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has suspended the licences of DAAR Communications Plc, owner of African Independent Television (AIT) and Raypower, Silverbird, Rhythm FM and some state broadcasting stations.

The order was based on the debts amounting to at least N2.6 billion, owed by the broadcast houses.

The Director-General of the NBC, Balarabe Ilelah, who disclosed this to journalists at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja today, Friday 19 August 2022 said all the television and radio stations affected must halt operations in the next 24 hours.

Citing N2.6 billion debt being owed by the affected stations for the action, Ilelah noted that some of the stations affected have not renewed their licences since 2015.

The commission also threatened to revoke their licences and assign frequencies withdrawn from debtor stations to interested operators after two weeks of publication.

It said the decision was necessitated because the operators pay little or no attention to the prompt payment of their licence fees, noting that NBC will not fold its arms and watch the stations continue to violate the provisions of the Commission’s establishment Act.

“This is the first batch, there are those who have not renewed their licence since 2015, 2016 and 2017. We are asking them to come and pay their licence fees,” he said.