The House of Representatives has held a public hearing on a Bill for an Act to Provide the Regulation and Conduct of the Practice of Broadcasting Profession in Nigeria for Related Matters.
Stakeholders in the broadcast sector were present to make inputs to the bill.
The speaker of the House, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila said that the Bill is primarily seeking legislative backing for the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters to bring together those practicing Broadcasting as a profession for better performance through regular training, seminars and workshops, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and mentoring.
“The Society of Nigerian Broadcasters will contribute to the growth of the broadcast industry by serving as an advocacy for the broadcast industry” Gbajabiamila said.
He said that apart from the Nigerian Guild of Editors that assembles editors from time to time, there is no such gathering for broadcasters.
The chairman of the Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, Rep. Odebunmi Dokun, said that the association would guide the broadcasting industry.
He urged stakeholders at the public hearing to make meaningful suggestions that would make the broadcast sector better than it is.
The sponsor of the Bill that led the public hearing, Rep. Olaifa Jimoh Aremu, said that following the broadcast trends globally, there is a need to improve the sector in Nigeria to meet global demands.
Complement regulation
On his part, the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, said that the association is not seeking to replace but to complement existing associations and agencies.
Similarly, a veteran broadcaster, Prof. Tonie Iredia, said that the bill was necessary.
He said that broadcasters need to be allowed to regulate themselves rather than being regulated by government.
“What the Society of Nigerian Broadcasters stands for is a meeting point for the practitioners. Meeting point to discuss the profession, meeting point to view and review the current trends in broadcasting, through annual conferences and forums as it is the practice in other professions” Prof Iredia said.
The Society of Nigeria Broadcasters Bill when eventually passed into law is to promote professional competence and professional ethics that will be inbuilt rather than imposition, enhancement of conduct that will minimise broadcast infringement through impartation and bridge the gap between the old and new generation of broadcasters as it happens in other professions.
Various inputs were discussed for and against the bill.
Emmanuel Ukoh
