Tuesday, 7 March 2017
NBC to shut down broadcast stations over N5bn debt
By Emmanuel Elebeke
THE National Broadcast-ing Commission (NBC) has issued a three-week ultimatum to all broadcasting stations in the country to pay all their outstanding licence fees or face sanctions.
The Director General of National Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Is’haq Modibo Kawu who issued the warning at the broadcast stakeholders’ meeting held in Abuja said it was regrettable that many broadcast stations operating in Nigeria have refused to pay their license fees amounting to N5 billion and threatened to invoke all relevant laws against erring stations to recover the debt.
He said, “There are very worrisome issues in our operations. The first is the situation whereby many stations have refused to pay their licence fees; even the statutory act of informing the NBC, six months before the expiration of licence and signifying intention to continue as a licencee is ignored.
“Our licencees carry on as if they have their licences for keeps and the NBC cannot withdraw licences. It is important to remind us all that all licences are provisional, no matter how long you have held them. And for emphasis, I want to let you know that stations are owing over N5 billion as licence fees. I will like to use this medium to inform you, that the NBC would be invoking the relevant laws against erring stations. Consequently, all stations without exception are expected to complete all payments owed to the Commission by March 15, 2017,” he said.
Illegal and rampant use of transmission power
Kawu said that the Commission was equally worried by the illegal and rampant use of transmission power by stations all over Nigeria. According to him, some stations procured transmitters without respecting the stipulated and recommended transmitter power in city-based FM stations.
“The consequence of this is that we have frequency clashes occurring all over Nigeria. As of yesterday, we had compiled a total of 69 stations around Nigeria, that have installed transmitters beyond the transmitter power stipulated in their licenses, and that is not even exhaustive,”he said.
On hate speech, he said: “I would like to draw your attention to the dangerous trend of hate speech that has become a major problem in our country today.
The post NBC to shut down broadcast stations over N5bn debt appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2mDM564
Sunday, 5 March 2017
FG waives payment of 10% equity on mortgages below N5m
To prove its commitment to the provision of affordable housing to Nigerians, the Federal Government has said that mortgages below N5 million would not attract the initial payment of 10 per cent equity from contributors.
Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, disclosed this while commissioning a 125-unit housing estate being financed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and developed by Messrs LCK Projects (Nigeria) Limited in Enugu State.
Shehuri said in view of the challenges of housing deficit in Nigeria, which has been put at between 16 and 17 million, the ministry plans to build houses in every state of the federation for public sector workers and other interested parties over the next three years through public-private partnerships.
He added that national housing models have been designed and approved for each geo-political zone, which would take care of each zone’s cultural and climatic diversities.
Speaking at the ceremony, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi assured the minister of the state’s readiness to continue providing enabling environment for housing development.
A statement signed by the Assistant Director (Information) in the ministry, M. A. Ahmed, noted that the minister also visited Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, where he commissioned the first set of 72 units of houses out of 240 being financed by FMBN and undertaken by the Ebonyi State Housing Development Corporation (ESHDC).
He was also at Owerri, Imo State to commission the 100-unit FMBN-Minfa Housing Estate where the state government urged the management of FMBN to replicate the gesture in the 27 local councils of the state.
Acting Managing Director of FMBN, Mr. Richard Esin, urged all Nigerians in private employment or self-employed, who are currently not contributing to the National Housing Fund (NHF) to do so.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mu647o
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Taraba seeks refund of N27 billion spent on federal roads
The Taraba State Government has appealed to the Federal Government to refund over N27 billion spent by it on construction of federal roads in the state.
The state’s Commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr. Tafarki Agbadu, made the appeal yesterday while interacting with newsmen in Jalingo, the state capital, during a weekly interaction between government officials and the media, an initiative of Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Public Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Bello.
The commissioner said the appeal had become necessary following the need to put the money into opening up of other access roads for increased economic activities in the state.
Agbadu explained that a Federal Government delegation had already undertaken an assessment tour of the projects in the state but no refund was made yet.
“We have spent over N27 billion in the construction of federal roads in the state without any refund. “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government for a refund of the money to enable us open up more roads and other projects,” he said.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m9Z3J7
‘Delta APC didn’t celebrate Ibori’s return’
James Ibori
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said that it was not involved in the celebrations marking the return of Chief James Onanefe Ibori, a former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governor of Delta State, after his recent release from serving a prison sentence on conviction for money laundering and corruption charges in the United Kingdom (UK). His family and political associates, friends and supporters celebrated his return to his hometown, Oghara.
But a statement by Leonard Obibi, Acting Publicity Secretary of the APC in Delta State, said: “In the course of these events, it was observed that a few of our party members who are relatives, acquaintances or former associates of Chief Ibori also took the chance to join in paying him visits which were widely publicized. Inadvertently, the media tended to play up this perspective, and in the process contrived a false impression that our party, APC Delta, may have joined in celebrating the return of Chief Ibori.
“APC Delta therefore wishes to state emphatically and put it on record that unlike the PDP which invented, fertilized and has been perpetuating corruptive tendencies in Delta State, and which for whatever reasons chose to identify with a return of one of their own, APC Delta is not affiliated in any way with these celebrations. Chief Ibori has remained the principal leader and fulcrum of the PDP political organ in Delta State that represents everything that the opposition has been combating since the inception of the current democratic dispensation.
“We also wish to reaffirm that APC Delta is repulsed by the excessive spectacle of merriment that was put on display by the PDP and its allies because it does not communicate the concerned feelings or reactions of the larger Delta society. It is a flaw of opinion and an irony of the reality on ground for anybody to link or tag Deltans in general, many of whom have continued to suffer under the yoke of the PDP to this celebration. Also, APC Delta seizes this opportunity to caution its members and notify the larger public not to drag into or associate its name with the imprudent actions of a few individuals.
“APC Delta metamorphosed from a myriad of progressive parties that have stood in opposition to the PDP since 1999, and have since its formation fought tooth and nail against the corrupted rule of the PDP in Delta State; and our party remains focused and committed to rescuing Delta State from the depravities of self-service and corruptive tendencies that drives the PDP political machinery.”
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2mnHdhw
Nigerian, South African firms partner on creative awards
Loeries Award Company, a continental creative ranking firm based in Durban South Africa, has renewed its relationship with MARKETING EDGE, a leading Nigerian brands and marketing publication. The new deal was consummated yesterday at a breakfast meeting between the management of MARKETING EDGE and Loeries Award Company held at De Renaissance Hotel, Lagos.
Loeries CEO, Andrew Human who is in Nigeria as part of LAC’s road show in Africa and the Middle East noted that his organisation was motivated to renew the partnership with MARKETING EDGE based on the fruitful and productive relationship between both parties last year.
Andrew affirmed that as a result of last year’s brilliant outcome with the leading brands and marketing publication, Loeries was able to gain unprecedented awareness, penetration and participation from creative agencies in Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest market. And this year, even more agencies have shown interest in the award which is slated for August 2017 at the beautiful resort city of Durban in South Africa.
“We are delighted to work with MARKETING EDGE again based on the fruitful relationship we had last year. The media partnership which was informed by MARKETING EDGE’s brand equity rating and leadership in the Nigerian media market, especially our core target publics is a great fillip and a major attraction for our traction” Andrew said.
In his response, Publisher/CEO, MARKETING EDGE, Mr. John Ajayi, “the renewal is a confidence boosting elixir for us as an organisation”, stating that the relationship afforded the company’s officials to be exposed to the global creative award rankings.
Besides, he stated that the renewal will further help to strengthen our brand leadership in the area of organising a credible national marketing stakeholders summit and our own annual Brands and Advertising Excellence award: “we thank the Loeries group for reposing confidence in our brand and for appreciating the contributions we have been priviledged to make towards its highly rated and competitive continental creative awards”.
Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2m9Y2kg
Tuesday, 7 February 2017
Al-Makura sacks 10 commissioners (Read full details)
Al-Makura
Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura yesterday sacked 10 of the 16 commissioners in his cabinet. A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Mohammed Abdullahi disclosed that six commissioners were retained while two were redeployed to other ministries.
Those affected by the sack are the commissioner for finance, Dominic Bako-Nasarawa Eggon; Youths and Sports, Ishaka Galadima-Awe; Agriculture and Water Resources, Aliyu Yusuf Lawee-Akwanga.
Others are Makeri Danladi-Kokona, Works, Housing and Transport; Idris Mohammed Idris-Keffi, Special Education, Science and Technology; Eunice Kigbu-Lafia, Women Affairs and Social Development; Dr. Uthman Ibrahim, Budget and Planning; Ramatu Ajuji Abubakar, Education; Tim Yiga, Information, Culture and Tourism and Mustapha Yahaya Idris, Community and Rural Development.
Those retained are the Commissioner for Justice, Yusuf Shehu-Usman; Health, Dr. Daniel Iya; Lands, Sunny Agassi and Environment, Gabriel Aka’aka.
Vía Uzomedia http://ift.tt/2kFOQAz
