FG Approves 12 New Community Radio Stations

President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the establishment of 12 community radio station in the country in order to create effective platform for reaching the rural dwellers.

This is coming as the Federal Government is considering pushing forward the June 17, 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for a global switchover of television signals from analogue to digital transmission.

Mr. Emeka Mba, director general of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) who made this known on Wednesday in Abuja, said President Jonathan approved two community radio stations to be established in each of the six geopolitical zones of the country.

Mba, disclosed that the commission was working with the Community Radio Coalition that will be visiting the NBC with the representatives of the licensed stations in order to give them deep understanding of  the roles of a community radio.

The NBC boss, however, said Nigeria would be unable to meet up with the deadline for digital switchover of the broadcast stations next month as a result of lack of funds to execute the transition process.

The Federal Government has failed to release the N60 billion, long earmarked as the cost of the Digital Switchover (DSO) process in the country, with the director general saying the commission had been operating on zero-budget allocation to DSO.