Broadcasting
Afreximbank Pledges Financial Support Nigeria’s DSO Project
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has said that it will put up a financial mechanism to ensure the completion of Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project before the end of the year.
According to NAN, Benedict Oramah, Afreximbank president, disclosed this in Cairo, Egypt, when Lai Mohammed, minister of Information and Culture, led a team of DSO stakeholders on bilateral discussions on the project.
In April 2021, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) launched free set-top boxes as part of the digital switchover (DSO) in Lagos.
The initiative was to enable millions of Nigerians who cannot afford the subscriptions of Pay-TV platforms to enjoy digital television with good content from 60 channels.
Oramah said Afreximbank was impressed by the presentation and will make Nigeria a model for other African countries for DSO project financing.
“The move toward digital television is global, and it was impressive to see the seriousness with which the minister has been pursuing this,” he said.
“I have had several meetings with him in France, Nigeria, and he has come here with a very powerful delegation involving all the stakeholders.
“What we are looking out to do is to work with all the stakeholders, particularly the private sector, to put a financing mechanism in place to ensure that Nigeria saves more than $400 million of subsidy that would have been applied.
“When we are able to do this before the end of the year, the Nigerian government will benefit because we are going to free the spectrum that will be now sold for about two billion dollars to telecommunication companies.
“We assure you that we will put in place the financial structure that will work because we know that if we do it well in Nigeria, other African countries pursuing the same goal will take a cue from there.”
Oramah added that supporting the DSO project would create a platform that would accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s creative industry.
On his part, Mohammed noted that the creative industry is key in the diversification of Nigeria’s economy because, after agriculture, it employs a larger number of people, mostly women and the young population.
He said the project would also bridge the digital divide by establishing more equitable access, connecting the unconnected at the underserved and remote communities.
The minister recalled that at the beginning of the programme, the model adopted by the government, which was subsidy driven was not sustainable.
“When the programme started, government subsidised the STB, which was bought from the manufacturers for $30 per box and sold to consumers at $10 per box,” he said.
“Government was also paying the signal distributors and the middleware providers, but the subsidy regime can no longer be sustained.
“Right now, the government is not going to give any financial support again to the project, and that is why we have reengineered and rejigged the programme in a manner that it will be commercially viable.
“Government will only give support to the project in the areas of regulations, advocacy and formulation of policies.
“For instance, we have already amended the Broadcasting Code to protect local manufacturers, advertisers, and channel owners.”
Godfrey Ohuabunwa, chairman of STB Manufacturers in Nigeria, who presented the credit requirement to the Afreximbank, said they would require a total of $165 million.
According to him, $125 million is expected to fund an initial five million STB from the total of 20 million boxes needed in five years.
He said the signal distributors would require $30 million as well as $10 million for marketing and promotion.
Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON) has established six committees to help strengthen and modernize the country’s broadcasting industry.
The committees will focus on content creation, skills development, digital transformation, sustainability, policy and commercial opportunities
The initiative aims to support industry growth and improve collaboration between broadcasters, regulators and media experts
The official launch recently, was led by Tony Akiotu, president, BON and attended by media professionals, program directors, former journalists and heads of specialized media organizations.
The event brought together several prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran broadcaster and trainer Bimbo Oloyede, Tony Uyah of M4S TV, Kingsley Uranta of Channels Television, Ismael Sani of Platinum TV and Ibrahim Shehu of Trust TV.
Together, they are expected to help drive innovation and support the growth of Nigeria’s broadcasting sector.
According to Akiotu, the committees are intended both to help shape industry policy and to provide a forum for dialogue between BON and broadcasting experts.
Akiotu said the ad hoc committees were intended to strengthen BON’s work and ensure that the umbrella body for Nigeria’s broadcasters played a more direct and meaningful role in developing the country’s broadcasting sector.
The six committees reflect the sector’s main priorities. The first focuses on collaboration and innovation to promote content creation.
The second is dedicated to training and talent development, while the third focuses on industry sustainability by improving the sector’s long-term financial viability.
A fourth committee will focus on digital transformation and work with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on regulatory issues.
The remaining two committees will oversee public policy advocacy and the development of sports and commercial rights to help broadcasters increase revenue and attract more investment. Together, the committees are expected to guide BON’s efforts to modernize and strengthen Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
The committees, chaired by members of BON’s General Assembly and supported by the organization’s Secretariat, have an initial 12-month mandate that may be renewed if necessary.
They are required to submit a progress report within three months and implement approved recommendations within the following six months.
The arrangement is intended to ensure close oversight and the timely implementation of their work.
Akiotu also reminded committee members that Nigeria pioneered television broadcasting in Africa and urged them to carry out their work with greater effectiveness and efficiency.
Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) says it is investigating about 34 tertiary institutions over allegations that they failed to refund students whose tuition fees were paid twice under the Federal Government’s student loan scheme.
The Managing Director of NELFUND, Mr Akintunde Sawyerr, disclosed this during an interview on Arise Television.
Sawyerr said the agency had deployed a five-member investigative team, including operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and internal auditors, to examine the allegations.
According to him, the investigation was prompted by numerous complaints received from affected students.
“As of right now, there are 34 institutions that we are looking at closely with respect to this issue,” he said.
Sawyerr explained that the double payment issue arose because President Bola Tinubu directed that the student loan scheme commence in the middle of an academic session instead of at the beginning.
He said the decision compelled many students to pay their tuition fees to meet registration deadlines while awaiting approval of their loan applications.
“What happened is that a lot of schools got double payment; some from the students and some from us,” he said.
“The refund process is entirely out of our hands. It is the recipient of the double payments that is obliged to make refunds to the students.”
The NELFUND boss noted that many students had borrowed money from family members, friends and other sources to pay their tuition with the expectation of receiving refunds once the loans were disbursed.
He said while some institutions had promptly refunded affected students, others had failed to do so.
“Some have been very good at this. Others haven’t been so good at it,” Sawyerr said.
“I reserve judgement on the intentionality around it because, for some of them, they just didn’t have the process to make refunds.”
Sawyerr disclosed that NELFUND was exploring a tokenised payment system that would enable students to authorise tuition payments directly to their institutions, thereby reducing the likelihood of duplicate payments.
He said the agency deliberately chose not to disburse tuition loans directly to students to minimise the risk of fund diversion.
“Paying the funds to the students could really lead to the temptation for them to divert and do other things,” he said.
The managing director, however, acknowledged that NELFUND lacked the statutory powers to compel institutions to refund students or prosecute officials found culpable.
He added that many frustrated students had submitted complaints not only to NELFUND but also to anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
Sawyerr also expressed concern over increases in tuition fees by some institutions following the introduction of the student loan scheme.
He said NELFUND had declined to pay institutions that increased their tuition fees beyond acceptable levels.
“Some schools, because they get paid easily, started to put up their fees. We refused, point blank, to pay institutions who had hiked their fees beyond a certain level,” he said.
He reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to investigating every reported irregularity and strengthening the implementation of the student loan programme through continuous monitoring and internal reviews.
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