Kawu’s suspension won’t affect NBC–Ag. DG

The Acting Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Prof. Armstrong Idachaba, says the suspension of its Director General, Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, will not affect its operations.

Kawu was suspended penultimate Friday over an allegation of involvement in a N2.5billion fraud.

Prof. Idachaba told journalists after a press conference in Abuja yesterday that the broadcasting regulatory agency was a government institution and the exit of an individual would not affect its operations.

He said: “There has not been any gap in the operations of the NBC since last week when there was a change of leadership here. Absolutely, there is no gap in the management of NBC’s activities.

“As you can see, all of us in the management team are fully on ground here. The exit of an individual doesn’t affect a government agency’s activities. As I have just revealed to you, we have a number of activities coming in the next weeks and months.

“None of our ongoing projects like the Digital Switch Over will be affected by what happened, NBC is an institution, it doesn’t matter who is here and who isn’t.”

He disclosed that a new broadcasting industry regulatory code would be unveiled in March this year. The new code, according to him, would further give the commission the powers to adequately regulate the broadcasting industry.

Idachaba said the new code has provisions for online broadcast monitoring.

On the Digital Switch Over project, he said the federal government had a new time table which would be unveiled in three weeks, adding that the government was determined to see the project materialise.