Source : http://newsfeedngr..com/2015/03/hate-broadcast-reps-demand-details-of.html
House of Representatives on Tuesday asked the National Broadcasting Commission to produce detailed evidence of penalties it had meted out to broadcast stations that had violated the codes for political coverage and advertisements.


The House Committee on Information and National Orientation gave the directive in Abuja at an interactive session with top management officials of media organisations and regulatory bodies in the country.
The committee, which is chaired by Mr. Umar Buba-Jibrin, had called the meeting to address complaints of “rising cases of violations, particularly the broadcast of hate speeches, advertisements, documentaries and publications” by media houses.


The committee claimed that such actions allowed by some broadcast outfits and print media houses ahead of March 28 general elections could precipitate “major and uncomfortable political violence” in the country.
The committee noted that fairness, balance, lack of right of reply and broadcast of content that were “clearly untrue or intended to cause crises” were on the increase in the media lately.

“What purpose does it serve anyone, if we have to broadcast or publish content that we know is not true?
“We are living in this country and we know our history. Some of us witnessed the Nigerian civil war.
“Why do we carry content that is full of lies just to please a particular political group or individuals even when it is not correct?” Buba-Jibrin asked.

It was a stormy session where regulatory agencies and some broadcast outfits, including the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, DAAR Communications, Nigerian Television Authority and the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria put up a defence for themselves.
The NBC, led by its Director-General, Mr. Emeka Mba, denied that it failed as a regulator in allowing some broadcast stations to air certain political content considered to be offensive.
He told the committee that the commission applied all the codes and regulations to all political broadcasts.
Mba also said whenever complaints were made or investigations showed that certain content were indeed in bad taste, the commission did not hesitate to fine the media houses involved.
“We have fined some stations, not once; there are a number of them”, he added.
However, Mba got the lawmakers infuriated when he rationalised that hate speeches or what might be considered to be offensive was relative.

He tried to explain that there was a line between interfering with the operations of the outfits and the right of people to freedom of expression, equally guaranteed by Nigerian laws.
“Any material that incites violence, we take particular exceptions to it.
“However, not all uncomplimentary remarks about an individual or organisation are inciting because the stations too have a right to freedom to operate,” Mba said.
A lengthy argument ensued between Mba and the lawmakers over his stance, a reason the committee directed him to produce the list of the stations it had sanctioned this year.
Both Daar Communications and NTA told the committee that they had been fair to all political groups and individuals since electioneering for the poll stated.
But they also clarified that certain content were commercial in nature and intended to generate revenue for the sustenance of the outfits.
NTA’s Director-General, Mr. Shola Omole, in particular, further explained that content that was carried “live” was completely beyond the control of the station.
He claimed that other political groups were usually compensated by giving them the same amount of airtime as a right of reply.
Former NTA presenter and Chairman, House Committee on Diaspora Affairs, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, vehemently disagreed with Omole.
She said President Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party enjoyed more airtime than Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress on the NTA.
She also told the session that on three occasions, the APC had tried unsuccessfully to air a documentary on NTA and AIT to reply to hate documentaries carried by the same stations against its presidential candidate and the party’s national leader, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu.

The Nigerian Press Council was represented by the Executive Secretary, Mr. Nnamdi Njemanze.
Njemanze stated that though some print organisations often challenged the regulatory powers of the NPC, the media would still have to perform their duties.
He explained that most of the reports carried by newspapers but seen by some people as inciting, “mirrored” the comments made by politicians.

Don't mind the useless political parties.
After soiling their names, they would expect respect on the international scene.