Broadcasting
Broadcaster Calls out Lai Mohammed, Describes Him as Minister of NBC Affairs
By Adelanwa Olajubu
I have followed the affairs of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the past two decades, because of the role it plays in regulating broadcasting in our country.
I believe NBC came at the right time, when President Babangida deregulated the industry during the 1990s. I am one of the beneficiaries of the system.
I served in the Cross River State Radio in Calabar, in the early nineties, and I have worked on and off, in several broadcasting stations since then.
I am one of those who believe that NBC is a force for good in our climate. It is there to ensure that broadcasters behave ethically, and in order to ensure a tranquil environment in our country, with its several fault lines that opportunists can exploit to cause disaffection.
That was why many of us applauded NBC early last year, when it closed down Ekiti state radio and television, after the elections. Former Governor, Ayo Fayose wanted to cause mayhem, by trying to announce his own results. I
t wold have been a repeat of the sad experience of the old Ondo state, in the 1983 elections, which resulted in the loss of several lives and the destruction of property. NBC’s quick intervention saved many lives in Ekiti state.
Because I follow keenly developments in and around the NBC, I have been worried about the manner that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, is gradually turning himself into the Minister of NBC Affairs, since his recent re-appointment.
Hardly has a day passed, that he won’t mention something related to the work of the regulatory commission. It is almost as if the NBC does not have a Board in place, or the organization no longer have a Director General.
What is the basis of Alhaji Lai Muhammed’s compulsive obsession with that organization? I have read the story of the Committee that he has set up to implement reforms in the NBC.
And while no one can fault the fact that every public institution needs reformation to meet growing exigencies; what might cause problem is when plans for reform, become an avenue to pursue a personal agenda.
For instance, all broadcasting industry insiders know that Alhaji Lai Muhammed does not have a good relationship with the NBC Director General, Mr. Ishaq Modibbo Kawu.
So when the Minister of Information appointed a Director working under the NBC DG to head a reform implementation committee, a lot of eye brows were raised by watchers.
Why did Alhaji Lai Muhammed make such an appointment? Did he do so in consultation with the DG or inspite of the DG? What role did the Minister assign to the Board of the NBC, which by law is supposed to be directing any reform in the institution?
Did he carry them along or was he actually behaving like a Sole Administrator of the NBC, which is not in the Act setting up the Commission?
How does the Minister justify the fact that his implementation committee is filled with licensees of the Commission? What type of reform can licensees impose on their regulatory agency, that can be fair?
Didn’t the Minister give this a good thought, before putting together his implementation team? And did he not expect that a backlash was going to come from the Board of the Commission, given the clear place that they occupy within the ambits of the law, the Act, which sets up the Commission?
In his heart can he convince himself that he did not disrespect the Board, and especially the Chairman, a two-time Minister, and a leading politician in his own right too?
What exactly is the crime that the NBC Director General has committed against the Minister, that he seems so bent on not only undermining his authority but also seeming to want to prematurely end his tenure at the NBC? For those of us looking from outside, the feeling was that as people from the same state, who were in the same political camp, to end the Saraki reign in Kwara, their relationship would be made beneficial for their state and Nigeria.
It doesn’t seem to be so. My question for Alhaji Lai Muhammed is that, if you get the Director General out of the NBC, would you ever be allowed to appoint another Kwaran in his place? Or you cannot be bothered with such niceties, because all you want is to terminate your Kwara man’s tenure?
And is the Minister even thinking of the negatives that some of his pronouncements are logging for the Buhari administration? When he openly says that he would regulate social media, who is he speaking for really? Is it a coincidence that the Vice President responded to him, that it was not a proper thing to think of regulating or controlling social media?
Is Alhaji Lai Muhammed not helping to reinforce the discourse about President Buhari, being anti-press freedom? Is that the type of negative image that the country’s Minister of Information should be reinforcing, in his over enthusiastic statements, that all come within the whole scenario about his seeming takeover of the NBC? And what is the story that he peddles about issuing a new “National Broadcasting Code”?
The last time I checked, there is a Nigeria Broadcasting Code, which the NBC and the industry work on and is used as the instrument to regulate the broadcasting industry. Who will Alhaji Lai Muhammed use his own “National Broadcasting Code” to regulate? How will he produce such an instrument? Didn’t the NBC release a 6th edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code a few months ago? And from what we know, the Code is produced once every four to five years. So how is Alhaji Lai Muhammed going to bring out his own “National Broadcasting Code”, to take the place of the legitimate Nigeria Broadcasting Code?
A lot seems to be happening. And most of these are coming from the pursuit of a personal, and a not too hidden, agenda, by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed.
It is so clear, that the more he states that he got presidential approval for his actions, the more hollow it sounds. Presidential approval cannot be a fig leaf to hide a putrid, personal agenda, which might end up destroying the institution, than reforming it.
Alhaji Lai Muhammed is believed to rely on a tiny coterie of individuals, who have personal scores to settle, and have all bunched together to cause as much upheavals as possible in the affairs of the National Broadcasting Commission.
One of the jokes that someone made at the just concluded BON Congress in Lagos, was to ask when Alhaji Lai Muhammed would move his table and chair into the premises of the National Broadcasting Commission, to complete his takeover of the institution.
What is shameful in all that is happening, is that those who can call Minister Lai Muhammed to order, have maintained an unusual silence, as he continues his relentless pursuit of a personal agenda, at the NBC, through a most controversial NBC reform implementation committee.
Surely, President Muhammadu Buhari did not appoint Alhaji Lai Muhammed as a Minister of NBC Affairs. He should live to the oath that he swore to, never to use the position to pursue a personal agenda, because there is so much palpable personal vendetta seeping through all his actions at the National Broadcasting Commission. Nigeria will be the loser, if Alhaji Lai Muhammed is allowed to see through his personal vendetta at the NBC.
Adelanwa Olajubu, a broadcaster, is from Idanre, Ondo State.
Federal government, yesterday, said that it will now launch the so-called FreeTV, with over 100 channels for news, sports, education, entertainment and children’s programming in multiple Nigerian languages on June 17.
National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had initially scheduled for May 15 for the launch.
But the new date was announced by Mohammed Idris, minister of Information and National Orientation, on Wednesday during a facility tour of NIGCOMSAT, alongside Dr Charles Ebuebu, director general of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and other stakeholders.
Idris said the long-awaited migration from analogue to digital broadcasting had finally become a reality after years of failed attempts and delays, describing the project as a major breakthrough for Nigeria’s broadcasting industry.
“I have been grappling with this idea of the DSO for many years. Moving our transmissions from analogue to digital has now happened and is ready to be commissioned by June 17,” the minister said.
He revealed that several channels had already been bundled onto the platform, adding that the digital transition would transform broadcasting, advertising and television consumption across Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.
According to him, the new platform introduces scientific audience measurement tools capable of tracking viewership patterns in real time, thereby giving advertisers reliable data for targeted campaigns.
“Now science is at play. If you are viewing a station, we know who is watching what and how many people are watching. Advertisers can now take informed decisions about the kind of programming Nigerians want to watch across all demographics,” Idris stated.
The minister said the collaboration between NIGCOMSAT, NBC, the Ministry of Communications and the Ministry of Information had made the digital transition possible, while commending President Bola Tinubu for providing the necessary support and resources.
He described previous DSO efforts as limited and expensive due to encrypted set-top boxes but noted that the new system would be free and accessible to millions of Nigerians.
“In the past, the boxes were encrypted and costly. Now this is free. Government has taken off some of those costs on behalf of Nigerians,” he said.
Idris stressed that unlike earlier pilot phases restricted to a few cities, the new digital platform would have nationwide and regional reach through NIGCOMSAT’s satellite infrastructure.
“Everybody can now watch whatever he wants in real time and painlessly. Free TV everywhere for everybody”, he declared.
The minister also hinted that the platform would challenge the dominance of existing pay-TV operators by offering Nigerians wider viewing options at no cost.
“I don’t want to always use the word ‘substitute’, but this offers opportunities you didn’t get before. You no longer have that monopoly again. Competition is going to set in. Content will grow and viewership will grow,” he said.
He added that the platform would initially launch in standard definition, SD, before quickly transitioning to high definition, HD, bringing Nigerian broadcasting in line with global standards.
“Soon after the launch, we are moving to HD. Nigeria will now compete globally. What you watch here is what you get anywhere,” Idris said.
The minister further disclosed that the service was already available via mobile application and had successfully undergone testing ahead of the official unveiling.
Also speaking during the tour, managing director and chief executive officer of NIGCOMSAT, described the collaboration between NIGCOMSAT and NBC as a strategic partnership that has strengthened service delivery and raised operational standards within Nigeria’s digital broadcasting ecosystem.
According to her, ongoing investments and satellite expansion plans under the current administration will guarantee reliable and continuous service delivery.
“The work has only just started. The work has only just begun,” she said.
Among those who accompanied the Honourable Minister on the tour were Salihu Abdullahi Dembos, director-general, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA); Jibrin Baba Ndace, director-general, Voice of Nigeria (VON); Mohammed Bulama, director-general, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); and Lanre Issa-Onilu, director-general, National Orientation Agency (NOA), alongside other senior government officials and dignitaries.
Metro Digital Limited, a licenced Indigenous broadcasting organisation, has accused Multichoice, pay television company, of refusing to obey judgements emanating from Courts in Nigeria.
It said the latest of such judgements is the one that was delivered by Justice Chinelo Odili of Rivers State High Court on May 4, 2026 in Suit No. PHC/3943/FHR/2025.
Dr. Paul Osuji, operations manager of Metro Digital, at a press conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State,
said the suit was filed by the organisation and two others against Multichoice and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Osuji stated that Justice Odili has in the judgement described the arrest of a staff member of the company and the carting away of it’s properties and disruption of it’s broadcasting business by the EFCC over a civil dispute of copyrighy as unlawful and violations of the applicants’ rights.
The manager recalled that in October 2025, Multichoice instigated the EFCC to read their office in Port Harcourt, arrested a staff of the company and staff of another company, while the suit was still pending.
“On October 16, 2025, the premises of Metro Digital Limited, a licenced indigenous broadcasting organisation was raided by the Nigerian anti-graft agency, EFCC, instigated by Multichoice Nigeria, purportedly acting on a preservation order made by the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt over the sub licensing of broadcasting content right.
“The preservation order came from a civil dispute already adjudicated by the Court of Appeal No. CA/CS/188/2021 – Multichoice Vs Metro Digital Limited and 20 others, which is a subject of a pending appeal -No. SC/CV/1248/2022 -Multichoice and 20 others before the Supreme Court.
“Instructively, while suit No. PHC/ 3943/ FHR/2025 was still pending, Metro Digital Limited filed an application to set aside the said preservation orders of the Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and presided over by Hon. Justice A.T Mohammed.
“In his ruling delivered on December 10, 2025, set aside the preservation orders and it’s legal execution on Metro Digital Limited. The court also ordered EFCC to return unconditionally all the properties and records of Metro Digital Limited, illegally and unlawfully carted away during the raid but the agency has till today not obeyed those orders of the Court,” he said.
Metro Digital Limited is known for operating SLTV, a direct-to-home satellite television service launched to provide affordable, locally-owned alternatives to international pay TV
A Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) from sanctioning or punishing broadcast stations and presenters over the expression of personal opinions, alleged bullying of guests, or failure to maintain neutrality on air.
NBC
Justice Daniel Osiagor granted the interim injunction following an ex parte application filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
The court specifically restrained the NBC, its officers, agents and affiliated persons from enforcing its recently issued “Formal Notice” or imposing sanctions, fines or penalties on broadcasters based on provisions of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
SERAP and NGE had approached the court to challenge what they described as an arbitrary and unlawful move by the commission to punish broadcasters for allegedly expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality during programmes.
The groups also asked the court to determine whether the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by NBC were inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and Nigeria’s international human rights obligations.
The suit followed an April statement by the NBC in which it raised concerns over what it described as increasing violations of the broadcasting code across news, current affairs and political programmes.
The commission had warned that presenters who expressed personal opinions as facts or bullied guests during live broadcasts would be sanctioned.
However, Justice Osiagor, in his ruling, held that pending the hearing of the substantive matter, the commission must refrain from using the formal notice to threaten, sanction or punish broadcast organisations and on-air personalities under the contested code provisions.
The matter was adjourned until June 1, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice.
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