The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC has extended the deadline for closure of broadcast stations whose licences had been revoked.
Instead of August 20, the affected stations have up to Tuesday, August 23 to pay up their debts or be yanked off the air.
The Director General of the NBC, Babatunde Shehu Ilehah, announced the extension in a statement on Saturday, August 20
This newspaper gathered that all the 52 affected stations owe the regulatory body more than N2 billion.
The NBC stated that the decision to extend the deadline was prompted by the “intervention of concerned groups” and visible efforts by some of the defaulting stations to clear their arrears.
Its statement reads; “Following intervention of concerned groups and visible concerted efforts by some defaulting Licensees to offset their debts, the National Broadcasting Commission hereby serves this notice of an extension of the deadline to shut down to 6.00 PM on Tuesday, August 23, 2022,” .
Imo Broadcasting Corporation IBC owned by the Imo State Government and operators of Orient 94.5FM and Orient Channel 59 TV is amongthe 52 broadcasting stations that their licences were revoked.
Other states whose stations are also to be shut down are Rivers, Lagos, Kogi, Kwara, Anambra, Zamfara, Ondo, Bayelsa, Cross River, Kebbi, Osun Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Gombe and Yobe.
Other affected stations are Silverbird Television network, Rhythm FM stations in Abuja, Lagos, Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, Jos and Benin-City; AIT/Ray Power FM network; Greetings FM network; Tao FM, Okene; Zuma FM, Suleja; Crowther FM, Abuja; WeFM Benin; Classic FM, Abuja and Lagos and ClassicTV Lagos.
Equally affected are Beat FM Lagos, Splash FM, Ibadan; Rock City FM, Abeokuta, Family FM Ilogun; Space FM, Ibadan, Radio Jeremi Effurum, Breeze FM, Vibes FM, Family Love FM, and Wave FM.
NBC had been on the neck of the stations to pay accumulated licence renewal fees to no avail.
