The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has issued another query to Channels Television over an interview it granted the Governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom on Tuesday, 24 August, 2021.
This query will make it the fourth one ChannelsTV is receiving in less than eleven months.
Recall that the station and some other broadcast stations in October 2020, were queried for their coverage of the #EndSARS protests against police brutality.
After this, the station in April 2021, was queried for interviewing the spokesperson of secessionist group IPOB, Emma Powerful.
Also in May 2021, ChannelsTV and other broadcast stations had to pay fines for alleged infraction of NBC’s broadcast codes.
In addition, the broadcast authority has again queried ChannelsTV for allowing Governor Ortom to get away with “inciting and divisive” comments.
Recall that during Ortom’s interview on Tuesday morning on ChannelsTV’s Sunrise Daily, the governor accused President Buhari of trying to ‘Fulanise’ or ‘Islamise’ Nigeria with his open grazing policy.
Following this interview, NBC in a letter dated 24 August, 2021 and signed by its Director General Balarabe llelah, queried ChannelsTV for violating six of its codes during the broadcast of the interview.
According to the query letter in part: “The national broadcasting commission monitored the broadcast of your program Sunrise Daily between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. on Tuesday.
“The programme which had as guest the Executive Governor of Benue State Samuel Ortom was observed to contain inciting, divisive and unfair comments which were not thoroughly interrogated by the anchors.
“This negates the following provisions of the Nigeria broadcasting code.
“Consequently, Channels Television is required to explain why appropriate sanctions should not be applied for these infractions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. Your response should reach the commission within 24 hours of receipt of this letter.”
