To boost its operational efficiency, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has acquired and installing a state-of-the-art system that will keep its monitoring eyes across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

Breaking the news of in Lagos, at a stakeholders meeting to plan the take-off of iVerify fact-checking platform in Nigeria, the Director General of NBC, Mallam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah said the first phase of the equipment’s installation is ongoing at its headquarters in Abuja but will be deployed round the ten broadcasting zones of the country soon.

Lamenting the Commission’s difficult working conditions, he explained that hitherto, staff of the Commission used their mobile phones to record programmes on different stations across the country and such recordings couldn’t be kept for a long period.

But with the new equipment, programmes would be recorded seamlessly and could be archived for as long as ten years with ease of retrieval. “It will record 24-hours non-stop, whether someone is manning the equipment or not.” the DG said.

Speaking on his Commission’s lessons from the last elections in Nigeria, Mallam Ilelah said because the broadcast media is key to electioneering, politicians struggle to dominate the airwaves at all cost, noting that they use the opportunity to make hate comments.

He alleged that some politicians collude with some broadcast stations and are ready to pay the fine to let out their incendiary messages.

The DG said that “the social media can no longer be shoved aside. And it must be regulated so that we can harness its advantages in the area of freedom of speech and expression while excesses that threaten us as a people is checked with 740 terrestrial stations and others running on Pay TV, broadcasting in Nigeria.

Responding to a question on why the NBC plays the role of the complainant, prosecutor and judge, Mallam Ilelah said the NBC only operates within the law of its establishment. He emphasised, however, that the Commission has never imposed a fine of more than N5 million on any offending broadcasting station adding that the Commission will appeal a recent Court Judgement that the court has no power to sanction with stations by imposing fines.

NBC plays a super role in ensuring compliance with laid down codes of conduct and practice by issuing licenses to practicing broadcasting firms and also goes as far as supervising their activities to avoid deviations.

The National Broadcasting Commission is the broadcast regulator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The commission was set up on August 24, 1992, by Decree 38 of 1992 later amended as an act of the National Assembly by Act 55 of 1999 and now known as National Broadcasting Commission Laws of the Federation 2004, CAP N11 to among other responsibilities, regulate and control the broadcasting industry in Nigeria.