The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission, (NBC), Mall. Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, on Tuesday 14th March 2023, declared open a one-day workshop for members of the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters.
The workshop aimed at commencing capacity building for members of the professional body took place at the Hawthorn Suites in Abuja.
In his opening remarks, Mall. Ilelah stated that the purpose of the workshop is to have an overview of the ethics in broadcasting during, and post General elections, with emphasis on programme presentation and production. He added that the workshop will deepen participant’s practice of the broadcasting profession.
Mall. Balarabe Shehu Ilelah further noted that he believes, the workshop will provide a platform for broadcasters to do more within the cutting edge of broadcast practice in order to attain the visionary heights of the profession.
He however noted, that despite their performance in Voter Education and Sensitization, the Commission observed with dismay some contraventions of the Ethics by Broadcasters as domiciled in the Nigeria Broadcasting code before, during and after the Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
The DG also added that during the Elections, there were so many broadcast stations airing partisan programs, or giving undue prominence within the 24-hour probation period to Politicians who were contesting, as well as, seen usurping the duties of the INEC returning officers by announcing results before they were announced by INEC.
He further stressed that, in the Post Presidential Elections, some broadcast stations became unruly with narratives laden with ethnic and religious sentiments taking over the discourse. Live broadcasts of protesting groups, with volatile messages that could plunge the Country into anarchy according to the Director General, were poorly managed by many broadcast stations.
Infractions such as the broadcast of political content and announcement of election results by a station staff during the prohibition period, rather than INEC-authorized agents, were blotches that needed to be addressed through the grooming exercise the workshop may provide.
While noting, the constant breaches of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code by some broadcast stations, the NBC Boss, pointed out that the Commission, also observed that the State Gubernatorial and Assembly elections campaign as monitored in some States in the north (Benue) and southwest (Lagos), were centered around ethnic and religious divides.
In conclusion, Mall. Balarabe Shehu Ilelah called on broadcasters to Redirect and Refocus campaign content on issue-based narratives rather than jingles that could further heat up the Polity.
