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The bill, which has been sent to the National Assembly, aims to repeal and reenact the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) act, CAP L11 laws of the federation of Nigeria 2004.
Balarabe Ilelah, Director-General of the NBC, termed social media as a "monster" while discussing the proposed bill during a meeting with Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, at the commission’s headquarters. Ilelah stated that the existing law does not empower the NBC to regulate social media platforms.
"We want to tell you that a bill for an act to repeal and amend the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) act has been read for the first time on the floor of the national assembly," stated Ilelah.
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"This bill aims to accommodate the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting service, promote quality audio and video, efficient spectrum management, Nigeria Broadcast Institute, social media regulation, and related matters. These aspects are not covered in the present act of the commission. One of our major problems now is social media. Unless there is a law that allows NBC to act on social media issues, the issue will continue to be a monster in our daily lives in this country."
Ilelah highlighted the NBC's intention to work with broadcasters and stakeholders, preferring negotiations and understanding over sanctions. However, he revealed that in 2023, the NBC issued 1,238 warnings, and six different stations faced penalties due to violations.
![President Bola Tinubu. [X, formerly Twitter]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'300'%20height%3D'172'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "President Bola Tinubu. [X, formerly Twitter]")