BON Urges FG to Transition to Digitization

The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has appealed to the federal government to establish a fund to enhance a seamless digital transition programme for the country.

Malam Abubakar Jijiwa, chairman of BON, made the statement in Abuja yesterday at the opening of a two-day digital broadcast summit with the theme ``Digital switch-over: milestones and bridges’’. organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

Jijiwa said the challenges in the broadcasting sector were enormous and urged the government to ensure that no station, whether private of public, would be left behind by 2015.

He said that the constraint of finance and other challenges in the broadcast sector could make it impossible for some stations to meet the deadline of Jan. 1, 2015.

``The challenges in the broadcasting sector are becoming more complex as we move closer to the switch-over date of 2015. We, therefore, want to call for a marshal plan to assist broadcast stations with the needed funds to actualise our goal of transiting seamlessly by January 2015. We are not saying government should give subvention to stations. It should be a loan with a generous repayment arrangement so that our members can have access to funds to address all grey areas ahead of the switch-over date,’’ Jijiwa said.

He said that all BON members were committed to the transition programme as outlined by government, but would need a lot of support from stakeholders to succeed in the exercise.

In his address, Emeka Mba, director-general of NBC, said the forum was to avail stakeholders the opportunity to discuss on digitisation and assess the work done so far.

He said the deadline was real and that NBC and other stakeholders were set to implement key aspects of the road map to the eventual switch-over to digital broadcasting.

Mba said areas slated for discussion included the mechanism for new content development, signal distribution and other key aspects of digital broadcasting.

Labaran Maku, minister of Information, represented by Mrs. Folashade Esan, permanent secretary,  commended NBC for the initiative to meet with stakeholders.

She stressed the need for stakeholders to assess the milestones and bridges in Nigeria’s quest to join the rest of the world to switch to digital broadcasting.

Esan urged all players in the broadcast sector to endeavour to adopt trends in technology to ensure that the transition was not only hitch-free but beneficial to all broadcast audiences.

Sen. Bello Tukur, deputy chairman, Senate Committee on Information, commended NBC, BON and other stakeholders for their efforts in pushing the process of digitsation.

Tukur assured the stakeholders of the support of the National Assembly in ensuring that all the activities and programmes that would culminate in a successful transition were actualised.

Victor Oghene, deputy chairman of the House Committee on Information, said the House of Representatives would support in whatever way to ensure that no station was left behind.

Oghene added that the house would not hesitate to amend the relevant laws to give the digitisation exercise a legislative backing.

He said that the house was concerned about the success of the programme because of the excitement with which the Nigerian broadcast audience looked forward to the digital era.

``The year 2015 is very unique for Nigeria; it is not just because it is an electioneering year but because it is an important landmark in the broadcast industry,’’ he said.

He called on participants in the summit to also deliberate on the challenges that could emerge in the digital era, particularly those that would touch on content and signal distribution.