DSO Project Is Key For Effective Regulation Of Broadcast Industry -Minister

The FCT Minister Muhammad Bello has declared that the Digital Switch Over (DSO) project is the key component for effective regulation of the broadcast industry in Nigeria which should be given maximum priority in implementation.

Speaking during a visit to his office by officials of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Tuesday led by its Director-General Ishaq Modibbo Kawu, the Minister expressed satisfaction that the worldwide recognition of the outstanding technology deployed in Nigeria’s DSO project was a source of confidence in the success of achieving all the qualitative innovations of the project for the benefit of the people and the Nigerian government.

Malam Muhammad Bello emphasized the remarkable enhancements of broadcast quality on the DSO platforms already operating in the country regardless of the existing challenges in the industry.

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He noted that the NBC had obviously performed well in rolling out the program hitch-free.

‘’The DSO would restore sanity in the broadcast environment to check the uncontrolled access to numerous channels with undesirable contents,’’ said the Minister.

‘’You should forge ahead with implementing the stringent measures in the sixth edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code aimed at protecting people and institutions from the excesses of unprofessional broadcasters, particularly spreading hate speech to disrupt peaceful coexistence.’’

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Earlier, the NBC DG Ishaq Modibbo Kawu lauded the minister for exhibiting diligence, commitment to result-oriented administration and personal discipline in making the FCT function to meet expectations of people.

He said the NBC  is geared towards fulfilling its mandate, especially checking hate speech and ensuring compliance with regulations.

The NBC Boss noted that the 6th edition of the Broadcasting Code was launched in 2019 featuring several deterrent measures already being enforced.

Ishaq Modibbo Kawu announced plans to extend the DSO to other states in addition to Jos, Abuja, Kaduna, Enugu and Osun due to the unflinching support of President Muhammadu Buhari for the project.