Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has begun a tour of the agencies under his ministry to assess their operations and ensure that they are aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The first stop on his tour was the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), where he was received by the Director-General, Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos.
I have commenced a series of familiarization visits to the agencies under our oversight at @FMINONigeria. Today, accompanied by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Ngozi Onwudiwe, and Directors, we visited @NTANewsNow and @nbcgovng. At both organisations we enjoyed warm welcomes, and… pic.twitter.com/ZDCw0vaEMv
— Mohammed Idris, FNIPR (@HMMohammedIdris) October 10, 2023
Next, the Minister visited the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), where he met with the Director-General, Mr. Balarabe Ilelah and members of staff.
“Well, they are doing so much, but much more needs to be done,” the Minister told newsmen at the end of his tour on Tuesday.
On his visit to NTA, the Minister said; “I saw the progress they’ve made, but I’ve also charged them with the responsibility of ensuring that we move away from where we are and proceed further.”
During his visit to the NBC, the Minister discussed challenges, especially with the digitization process that, he notes, has been stalled for a very long time.
At the end of that visit, the Minister said “Nigeria cannot afford to remain as an analogue country in terms of our broadcasting platforms. I know that there are challenges, but we need to resolve them quickly and move on. We cannot continue to be in an analogue position when the rest of the world, including smaller countries, have moved beyond this point.”
A new era in funding for agencies
During his visit to NTA and NBC, both agencies raised concerns about challenges with funding. In his response to newsmen on the issue of funding, the minister said the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu will look into these areas, but with more focus on relevance and accountability.
“Yes, you need more funding, but what do you do with the funding?,” the Minister noted.
The Minister said; “The necessary mindset has to be right first before even funding is made available. That said, the President is willing to put money in this sector. We’ll put it in the right direction, not money that will go down the drain.”
The minister, on Wednesday, continues a tour of agencies under his ministry with a scheduled visit to Voice of Nigeria and the News Agency of Nigeria.
NUJ meets with Minister
Before he visited the Nigerian Television Authority and the National Broadcasting Commission, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, received the executive members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists NUJ, who came on a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.
The delegation of the NUJ was led by its president, Comrade Chris Isiguzo while pledging the support of the union.
“The major thing is to make sure that he succeeds,” Isiguzor told Voice of Nigeria at the end of the courtesy visit with the Minister, noting the Minister understands the complexities in the Nigerian media industry as an experienced manager and practitioner.
“We must give him enormous support to make sure that he succeeds. As the Minister of Information, I’ve made that pledge on behalf of every practising journalist.”
