Monday 30 June 2014

Maku Urges Northern Leaders To Support Jonathan


The Minister of Information and Communication, Mr. Labaran Maku has urged Nigerian leaders especially those from the North to cooperate with President Goodluck Jonathan as the government seeks to achieve peaceful coexistence and development in the region.


The Minister made the call Monday in Jos, the Plateau State capital at the flag-off campaign of the Jos Pilot digital switch-over (DSO) where analogue television broadcast is switched over to digital to conform with international standard.


He also appealed to the leaders to imbibe the spirit of understanding and tolerance amongst them for the country to move forward.


Mr. Maku said, “the North is known for her high moral discipline and good conduct so it is time for our people to give peace a chance and embrace oneness”.


He however reassured Nigerians that the digitization campaign is to ensure that those who cannot afford digital television are brought up to date in global television broadcast trend.


Maku stressed over 40 million “set up boxes” are made available to all the viewers across the 36 states of Federation maintaining “the flagging off of digital programming in the country will be one of the largest employers of labour in West Africa.


According to him, “There is going to be a serious exploitation in the TV contents capacity that would provide good programs and the country is going to face increase in number of television channels with extra available digital endless stations”.


Also speaking, the Director General, National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Mr, Emeka Mba said the digital switch-over will be vehicle in addressing economic and political challenges of people as well as improve their ways of live.


Mba commended Governor Jonah Jang for transforming the State-owned media, Plateau Radio/Television Corporation, PRTVC.


However, the State governor, Jonah Jang who also spoke at the event challenged the NBC to used the enlightenment campaign to allay the fears of Nigerians by addressing fundamental questions that will arise in the minds of the people.


The governor decried the decline and near absence of high quality local programmes and call for the trend to be reversed.


Jang reiterated the State’s preparedness in the switch over campaign saying, “the Plateau State government in line with this trend has spent over N2.5billion in the upgrading of facilities of the State-owned Radio and Television station to enable it fit into the global digitization technology”.


He called on Nigerians to embrace the trend in order to keep pace with the ever changing tempo in television broadcasting. [Vanguard]

by Greenstarnetwork admin..


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