Media owners, others disown NBMOA’s ‘legal action’ against NBC, other

The management and board of the Broadcast Media Owners and Practitioners Forum (ABMPF) and JKD TV channel 391 DSTV, NIGCOMSAT, and Hamada Radio FM have dissociated themselves from the alleged class action suit instituted against Arewa24 and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

In a statement independently issued and made available to the media in Abuja, the Chairman, JKD TV, & Hamada Radio FM, Amb Yaro Mamman said, “Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to one organisation called Northern Media Broadcast Owners Association (NBMOA) on legal action against Arewa24. I am the Chairman of JKD TV channel 391 on DSTV & NIGCOMSAT, and Hamada Radio FM in 4 Nigerian Cities. We have never been invited or consulted by any Association or person, for or on behalf of the so-called NBMOA, to deliberate on or take a position on the status or activities of any industry player.”

You would recall that a certain Association purportedly representing broadcast media owners in northern Nigeria had instituted a legal action against a legally licensed Arewa24 on its legitimate right to operate in the north, and NBC, the regulator, recently.

“We support Arewa24 and are in solidarity with their contributions to the Nigerian media ecosystem. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), as the regulator, having certified Arewa24 as fulfilling compliance with extant laws and regulations, should be respected,” Amb Mamman said, adding that: “We are happy and proud of the Director General of NBC and his management for the good work they are doing, and support them fully.”

Mamman challenged the faceless Association to reveal their members, quit hiding behind a finger, and make their operations legal.

Finally, he said, it is important for the so-called NBMOA to make public the full names of its members and the media it owns. We hereby disassociate ourselves from any class action against Arewa24. Yaro Yusufu Mamman, Ambassador, Chairman, JKD TV, & Hamada Radio FM

On the other hand, the leadership of the Arewa Broadcast Media Practitioners Forum (ABMPF), said it has been inundated with calls and inquiries from members on an alleged class action suit against Arewa24 and NBC.

The chairman of ABMPF, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa, in a statement, stated that “We wish to state categorically that our Forum in no way or shape is involved in or briefed about the purported court action against a leading industry player in our region, Arewa24, and our national regulator, the NBC.

“As a Forum of Broadcast Media Owners and Practitioners, we disassociate our Forum from this legal action, and uphold the right of any industry player in the region to practice their trade unhindered, according to the law and regulatory dictates.”

The ABMPF is a legally registered association dedicated to the growth of the Broadcast industry and the promotion of professionalism in the Northern Region.

Therefore, we support the right of Arewa24 and indeed any broadcast outlet to exist and practice its trade. We also uphold NBC’s right to regulate our industry in accordance with our laws,” he said.