NBC may ban tokunbo TV, radio sets

Govt assures of passage of motion pictures bill

THE National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) yesterday hinted that with effect from 2015, used (tokunbo) television and radio sets may be banned from Nigeria.

This, according to the NBC, is in line with the deadline set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to which Nigeria is a signatory for the full-fledged digitisation of the broadcasting industry.

The Director-General of the NBC, Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa, who disclosed this at a capacity building workshop for reporters in Ibadan organised by the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), said a bill to ban the importation of used television and radio sets from the United States, Europe and any part of the world would soon be sent to the National Assembly for legislative backing.

Besides, Information Minister, Labaran Maku, has assured of a quick consideration of the long-awaited Motion Picture Practitioners Council (MOPPICON) bill by the Federal Executive Council.

Maku promised that an executive bill formally establishing MOPPICON and the moribund film fund policy would be sent to the National Assembly for further consideration and speedy passage before the end of the second quarter of 2012.

The minister gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja while closing the four-day long 2012 edition of the Zuma International Film Festival organised by the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), a parastatal of the ministry.