Broadcasting
NBCC Appoints AFRIMA President Creative & Cultural Committee Chairman
The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, NBCC has appointed the President of All African Music Awards, AFRIMA, Mr Mike Dada, as the Chairman of its Creative And Cultural Committee.
L-R: Mr Olafemi Olaniyan of Collageo Communications Limited, Mrs Bisi Sotunde, C.E.O, Busy Bee Events, Vice Chairman, NBCC’s Creative And Cultural Committee, Mrs Banke Meshida Lawal, CEO, BMPro Makeup Group, Chairman, NBCC’s Creative And Cultural Committee, Mr Mike Dada, Group Managing Director, Octopus Group Africa, Duke of Shomolu, Mr Joseph Edgar and Ine Wiche, Director of Trade, Investment and Programs, NBCC
With the mandate to explore the many opportunities in the business world and Nigeria’s economy, the Chamber recently launched the Creative and Cultural Sectoral Group to further help in harnessing the economic potential of the Nigerian creative industry.
In a letter dated April 19 and signed by the President/Chairman of Council, Bisi Adeyemi, the appointment of Mr Dada takes immediate effect.
Other members of the committee include; Mrs Banke Meshida Lawal of BMPro Makeup Group, serving as the Vice-Chairman, Mrs Atinuke Olashore of PJK Nigeria Limited, Mr Olafemi Olaniyan of Collageo Communications Limited, Mr Joseph Edgar, Duke of Shomolu, Mathew Adigolo of Pureview photography, Mrs Bisi Sotunde of Busy Bee Events and Ms Kiki Okewale of KO by Kikiokewale as members.
The letter reads partly, “I look forward to your acceptance of this responsibility as it would afford the Chamber the opportunity to benefit from your wealth of experience, which I hope you will make available by your regular attendance at Committee meetings.”
According to the President of the Chamber, Bisi Adeyemi, terms of reference for the creative and cultural sectoral group include encouraging and creating a platform for collaboration amongst members of the group, fostering the growth of member organizations as well as generating B2B opportunities, organizing programs and events to showcase the diversity and robustness of the Creatives Sector. In this regard, organize an annual “NBCC Creatives and Culture Day.”
Others include reviewing the impact of government policies on the Creative and Cultural Sector and working with the Advocacy Committee to engage policymakers and enlighten members as appropriate, preparing position papers to support the Chamber’s interface with private and public sector organizations and Providing support to the Program Committee and other Committees in generating creative content for the Chamber’s program and events among others.
Mr Dada, a lawyer, a chartered Public Relations and Marketing professional as well as the Group Managing Director, Octopus Group Africa, which comprises PRM Africa Marketing and Communications Limited, Aqua gryphon Marine and Oil, Hinges Properties and Constructions, MDX Media, Gobet247.com, Backstage Pro, Simon and Blake Solicitors among others, said he and other members of the group are determined to deliver on the Committee’s mandate for the benefits of the two great countries, Nigeria and Great Britain.
He stated that the culture and creative industry are capable of creating a substantial number of jobs, reducing poverty and eliciting peace if properly harnessed.
As the Vice President of the 5th African Union Pan-African Cultural Congress (PACC5), Mr Dada, in collaboration with other highly accomplished members of the committee, is expected to bring his wealth of experience and practice over the years in multifunctional areas of Strategy, cultural diplomacy, Marketing, Perception and Brand Management, Finance, Event production, strategic Public Relations, Media Management and Law.
Banke Meshida-Lawal –Creative And Cultural Committee vice chairman
Banke Meshida-Lawal is the CEO of BMPro. Banke’s firm BMPro, derived from the name, Banke Meshida Professional, is a multi-faceted business that boasts of a cosmetic makeup line of over 40 products, a training school, a beauty advisory and an online magazine, BM/Pro.
Atinuke Olashore -Creative And Cultural Committee member
Atinuke Olashore is an accomplished entrepreneur in the garment industry. She heads PJK Ltd, a creative firm, which specialises in Design, Pattern Making, and Embroidery.
Joseph Edgar -Creative And Cultural Committee member
Renowned theatre producer and investment banker, Joseph Edgar, aka The Duke of Shomolu, is the Executive Chairman, of Duke of Shomolu Productions. His works have touched on cultural taboo issues, such as emotional infidelity, love, lust and marriage, and pseudo deity, among others. He has over 20 years of experience spread across the investment and wealth management industry.
Mathew Adigolo -Creative And Cultural Committee member
Mathew Adigolo, the CEO, of Pureview photography, is a professional photographer and retoucher. His Pureview photography offers a range of Photography and Videography services to individual and corporate clients throughout Nigeria.
Bisi Sotunde -Creative And Cultural Committee member
Bisi Sotunde (nee Padonu) is the CEO/Events Manager at BusyBee Events, a top event planning, and event management company based in Lagos, which deals in consulting, planning and coordinating weddings, corporate functions and parties.
Kiki Okewale -Creative And Cultural Committee member
Kiki Okewale, Chief Executive Officer at KO Empire, is a blogger, motivational speaker and successful fashion & style entrepreneur with HOPE Fashion and St. Kiks Couture where she styles Nigerian A-listers with class and lots of bling.
The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce is the foremost bilateral Chamber in Nigeria to promote trade and investment between Nigeria and Britain since its establishment in 1977.
The Chamber was set up to promote and develop Anglo-Nigeria trade relations, continually create value for its members and facilitate business-to-business relationships.
With a membership strength of 300 members whose total net worth is about N200 trillion from all sectors of the economy, made up of Nigerians and Britons, the Chamber is constantly developing a network of local branches in other parts of the country and has an NBCC-UK office presence.
The Chamber also promotes Nigerian export to the United Kingdom (UK) and the inflow of Capital and Investment into Nigeria.
More than 100 channels have signed on to broadcast free-to-air digital content under Nigeria’s Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to digital broadcasting.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the development followed the unveiling of FreeTV, a free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) national platform supported by satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) delivery.
According to the commission, the platform offers a broad mix of content targeted at Nigerian households.
It said the channel line-up includes 14 news and current affairs stations, 15 general entertainment channels, six kids and family channels, two lifestyle and talk shows, three music and entertainment channels, one business and finance station, and five movie channels.
The commission added that 57 of the channels are already live and accessible through the FreeTV app and the NigSat satellite platform.
It advised viewers to download the FreeTV application from Google Play Store to access the services.
Director-General of NBC, Charles Ebuebu, said the initiative would improve television access and viewing quality for Nigerians.
“We will deliver digital TV with clearer pictures, more free channels, and opportunities for every family.
“It is one simple change for a better future,” he said.
Ebuebu noted that with over 100 stations onboard and a satellite-led strategy, Nigeria’s digital migration was making significant progress.
The DSO project was launched in 2008 following the Geneva 2006 Agreement (GE06) as part of efforts to modernise the nation’s broadcasting ecosystem.
Its objectives include improving picture and sound quality, freeing up spectrum space for broadband development, and supporting Nigeria’s creative industry.
The commission acknowledged that the project had faced delays despite its official launch in 2016 and an earlier pilot phase in Jos.
It said nationwide implementation had remained slow due to infrastructural and logistical challenges.
According to NBC, a major turnaround came after President Bola Tinubu approved a N10 billion intervention fund in August 2024 to accelerate the project.
The commission said the funding enabled the adoption of a new satellite-first model under a partnership between NBC and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).
The strategy replaces the earlier terrestrial tower-heavy rollout with direct satellite broadcasting using the NigComSat-1R satellite.
“This technological leap is expected to accelerate nationwide rollout by over 65 per cent while avoiding infrastructure bottlenecks,” Ebuebu said.
He added that about 10 million Nigerian households already own satellite-ready televisions or DVB-S2 set-top boxes and can immediately access the channels.
For households without compatible devices, NBC said hybrid set-top boxes combining satellite reception and internet streaming would be introduced.
The commission added that the DSO initiative would also support local content creation, with 40 per cent of channel slots allocated to independent and regional producers.
It said plans were also underway for local production of five million set-top boxes annually, a move expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have jointly sued the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over what they described as an “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful” threat to sanction broadcast stations and presenters.
The development was disclosed in a Sunday statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, and Onuoha Ukeh, general secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
According to the statement, SERAP and NGE challenged a recent directive by NBC, warning presenters and journalists against “expressing personal opinions as facts,” “bullying or intimidating guests,” and failing to maintain neutrality.
The statement reads, “SERAP and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘Formal Notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly ‘expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.’
“The NBC had recently threatened to sanction broadcast stations and presenters who ‘express personal opinions as facts’ or ‘bully and intimidate guests,’ claiming it had ‘identified a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across news, current affairs, and political programmes.’”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/854/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos State, SERAP and NGE asked the court to determine whether the various provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC in the directive are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.
According to the statement, the groups disclosed that Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, would lead a team of senior lawyers to represent SERAP and NGE in the lawsuit.
SERAP and NGE asked the court to declare that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and constitute a fundamental breach of press freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
The statement added, “SERAP and NGE are asking the court for a declaration that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and overly broad and constitute a fundamental breach of freedom of expression and media freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.”
The groups also sought an interim injunction to restrain the NBC, its agents and other authorities from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on what they described as “unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code”, pending the hearing and determination of the motion.
“SERAP and NGE are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the NBC, its agents or privies, whether jointly or severally or any other authority, from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on the patently unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed simultaneously in this suit,” the statement concluded.
Globacom continues to celebrate African creativity as its sponsored programme African Voices on CNN International features London based photographer and multidisciplinary artist Ejatu Shaw this week. The episode highlights her journey, her art, and the stories behind her work.
Ejatu Shaw’s journey into photography began in 2013 during a family trip to Sierra Leone, a moment that sparked a passion which has since shaped her creative path. Born in 1996, the British Sierra Leonean artist later went on to earn a master’s degree in photography arts from the University of Westminster in 2020.
Her work explores identity in a personal and expressive way, drawing from her Islamic faith and African heritage. She is inspired by classic African studio photographers such as Malick Sidibé, Sory Sanlé, and Omar Yahia Barram. Through self-portraits and visual storytelling, she brings her memories and experiences to life.
Shaw’s talent continues to gain global recognition. In 2025, the British Fashion Council named her a New Wave Creative.
She has also photographed top names including Angela Bassett, Cynthia Erivo, and Usain Bolt, and worked on projects for major platforms like EBONY, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, and Vogue. She also designed the album cover for Craig David.
The programme will air on Saturday at 7:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. On Sunday, it will show at 3:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., with repeats on Monday at 3:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
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