….as NBC threatens to sanction debtor stations
The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) has appealed to the Federal Government to review the 2.5% tax on income being paid to the NBC to relief the stations on current tax burdens as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) gave notice to withdraw licences of its member-stations over mounting indebtedness,
The Secretary-General of the BON, Dr. Yemisi Bamgbose, pleaded for immediate review of the 2.5% payments on income to NBC to give the stations some fiscal breather as their cost of operations continue to surge
According to him, most stations are struggling to meet up with their operational costs, especially on the maintenance of their broadcast equipment and personnel emoluments.
Bamgbose, whose appeal to the government came barely a few minutes after the NBC’ notice to the debtor broadcasting stations, lamented the surging inflation in the economy and low commercial patronage over the past months as impacting negatively on the broadcast stations’ revenue nationwide.
The NBC had on Wednesday given a one-month deadline, precisely until 9th September this year, to debtor-stations to pay their licence fees or risk the revocation of such licences.
The Director-General of NBC, Balarabe Ilelah, gave the warning order at a stakeholders meeting with Chief Executive Officers and General Managers of Broadcasting Stations in the South West, South-East and South-South region in Lagos.
He bemoaned the situation in which some stations had continued to owe the commission of funds by not paying their statutory dues, stressing that the NBC primarily depends on self-generating revenues to fund its operations.
Ilelah maintained that stations that had been failing to remit the mandatory 2.5% of their incomes to the NBC would be sanctioned at the expiration of the 9th September deadline.
In addition, the Director-General clarified that new licences which had not been used for two years shall be revoked and re- awarded.
