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2023: Clamp Down On TV, Radio Stations Airing ‘Inciting Broadcasts’ – FG Instructs NBC

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The Federal Government has directed the National Broadcasting Commission to wield its big stick on television and radio stations airing “inciting broadcasts” as politicking for the 2023 general election gets intense.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, gave the directive on Thursday at the inauguration of the Governing Board of the Commission in Abuja.

Mohammed, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and one of the members of the Federal Executive Council, also tasked the Board to fast-track the implementation of the government’s Digital Switch Over.

Addressing the reconstituted Board, the minister said, “The most important task facing NBC today is to successfully transition the broadcast industry from analog to digital broadcasting, through the Digital Switch Over (DSO) project. While NBC is the implementing agency for this all-important project, a Ministerial Task Force on DSO, under my chairmanship, is driving the project.

“As quick background information, we launched the pilot phase of the project in Jos, Plateau State, on 30 April 2016, and, since then, we have launched the DSO here in the Federal Capital Territory, as well as in Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu, Osun, Lagos, and Kano states.

“We have an ambitious plan to fast-track the DSO this year by launching it in at least two states every month. Unfortunately, we have not been able to meet this target. But we are working hard to resume the DSO launch as soon as possible. I urge you all to buy into this project to ensure that NBC is able to deliver on what we perceive as a legacy project – because it will change the face of broadcasting in Nigeria.

“Also, please note that as we move closer to the 2023 general elections, NBC will come under increasing pressure to step up its regulatory role to prevent a repeat of what transpired before, during, and after the 2019 general elections, when some broadcast stations threw caution to the wind and engaged in inciting, incendiary and unprofessional broadcasts. It is important for the Commission to ensure that its licensees adhere strictly to the tenets of the Broadcasting Code.”

The NBC had at various times sanctioned television and radio stations including Arise TV, Channels TV, AIT, and Nigeria Info over what the Commission termed “unprofessional broadcasts” and “hate speech”.

It was reported that the government suspended the operations of microblogging site Twitter in Nigeria last June before lifting the ban this January after overwhelming international and national outrage.

The government is also pushing for an anti-social media bill in the National Assembly and seeking to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act that is currently before the legislative arm to have more control over the press but the bills have expressed pushbacks from many civil society organizations and media veterans who accused the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of suppressing freedom of expression and clandestinely using Mohammed to bring back the infamous Decree 4 of 1984, enacted during his days as Nigeria’s military ruler.

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NDLEA Seizes Lipsticks Stuffed With Drugs At Lagos Airport [VIDEO]

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Officials of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency have uncovered another batch of female lipsticks containing illegal drugs at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Femi Babafemi, the agency’s Director of Media and Advocacy, revealed this in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) page on Sunday.

He also urged Nigerians, particularly women, to be extremely vigilant when purchasing or accepting beauty products, especially from unfamiliar sellers or dubious online platforms.

The statement read, Ladies beware! It does appear like female lipstick is becoming attractive as an instrument for concealment and trafficking now with yet another consignment of factory fitted female lipsticks stuffed with illicit substances intercepted at MMIA barely a week after @ndlea_nigeria officers uncovered a similar cargo at a courier company in Lagos.

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JUST IN: Former President Buhari Dies In London Clinic

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Former Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, passed away on Sunday.

His longtime media aide, Garba Shehu, confirmed the news in a brief statement issued on Sunday afternoon, stating that the former president died at a clinic in London.

Shehu’s message, distributed to the media, read:
“INNA LILLAHI WA INNA ILAIHIRRAJIUUN. The family of the former president has announced the passing on of the former president, Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, this afternoon in a clinic in London. May Allah accept him in Aljannatul Firdaus, Amin.”

The statement concluded with the date: July 13, 2025.

Although the cause of death was not disclosed, Buhari, who held office from 2015 to 2023, had frequently sought medical care in the United Kingdom during and after his time as president.

Buhari, a retired Major General in the Nigerian Army, first led Nigeria as a military head of state from 1983 to 1985. Decades later, he was elected president through a democratic process. He made history as the first opposition candidate to unseat a sitting president in Nigeria.

Funeral plans have not yet been made public.

 

More to come…

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No Effective Governance Without Full Local Government Autonomy — Femi Gbajabiamila

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The Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that governance at the local government level cannot be effective without complete autonomy.

He made the remark while addressing journalists after voting in the Lagos State local government elections in Surulere on Saturday.

When asked about the progress of implementing the LG autonomy ruling by the Supreme Court one year after it was delivered, Gbajabiamila described the process as ongoing and said it would be completed with time.

Gbajabiamila said, “The ruling was welcome by everybody. It’s the execution of that ruling and the implementation of that ruling that we are still trying to dot the Is and cross the Ts.

“I believe in a matter of time, we will realise full autonomy. There cannot be effective governance without full autonomy. That’s what we are working toward.”

In July 2024, the Supreme Court granted autonomy to all 774 local government areas across the country following a case filed by the federal government through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation. However, the ruling is yet to be fully implemented.

Following the judgement, the Senate urged state and local governments to immediately adhere to the court’s directive, especially regarding local government accounts and direct fund disbursements.

The Senate also moved to amend relevant sections of the Constitution to ensure full local government autonomy nationwide.

The announcement was made by Deputy Senate President Senator Jibrin Barau, after lawmakers emerged from a closed-door session where they discussed alleged efforts by some state governments to bypass the Supreme Court’s ruling on July 11.

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