N/Assembly Will Not Condone Exploitation of Nigerians in Digital Switch Over – Dogara

Hamilton Nwosa
Writer

Ad

Reaction as Finnish court jails Simon Ekpa for six years over terrorism, incitement

By Obinna Uballa The Päijät-Häme District Court in Finland has sentenced pro-Biafra agitator Simon Ekpa to six years in prison after finding him guilty of terrorism-related offences. Ekpa was convicted on charges of inciting terrorism and participating in the activities of a terrorist organisation, a verdict that marks a dramatic turn in his controversial activism.…

Alibaba shares soar 19% on cloud growth, AI chip development

By Obinna Uballa Alibaba’s Hong Kong-listed shares surged more than 19% on Monday, their highest level since March, following strong quarterly results driven by its cloud computing business and reports of a new AI chip in development, reports said. The rally builds on Friday’s momentum when Alibaba’s U.S.-listed stock jumped nearly 13% after the company…

Wike, others mourn pioneer FCT HoS, Grace Adayilo

By Obinna Uballa The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has expressed deep sorrow over the death of Mrs. Grace Adayilo, the pioneer Head of the Civil Service of the FCT and the first woman to perform that role. Some Nigerians have also expressed sadness over her passing on social media. Adayilo…

Ad

The National Assembly will not condone exploitation of Nigerians as the country transits from analogue to digital broadcasting, Speaker of the House, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has said. The Speaker said this when he opened an investigate hearing by the House Adhoc Committee on the process of digital switch over in Nigeria.

Represented by Chief Whip Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the Speaker noted that it is alleged that the process has been marred by procedural irregularities, inconsistencies, and misappropriation of funds generated to facilitate the digital switchover which needs to be thoroughly investigated by the Committee.

“I have heard from different quarters that the digital switch over will re-position the broadcast landscape architecture in Nigeria,” he said.

He said that what is doubtful is concretizing the great expectation of Nigerians on the current process of digital transition in the country.

“The National Assembly, with its responsibilities of representation will neither condone acts inimical to the development of the country nor allow Nigerians to be unduly exploited,” he said.

Dogara maintained that the impact of technological innovation on national development is quite massive and that “we should use all legislative tools at our disposal to ensure its success. It is in this light that I am extremely delighted to be part of this epoch making event.”

“Our aim is to ensure that Nigerians benefit maximally from this novel modernization. We will strive to avoid a situation where the country becomes a dumping ground for all forms of digital equipment.”

“I must commend the pilot phase of the Digital Switch-Over launched in Jos and Abuja, having failed at this noble cause twice. This notwithstanding, feedback from the launches has been a source of concern to the National Assembly. It is hoped that this exercise, a significant milestone to reposition our great country, will proffer a way forward to successfully transit from analogue to digital broadcasting.”

The Ad-Hoc Committee was set up by the House to among other things invite all Stakeholders involved in the DSO programme with a view to ensuring that the process will meet the deadline, ensure quality and cost effective services to Nigerians, investigate the sale of the harvested Bandwidth to MTN, and the concession of the GUI value added services to Inview Tech Ltd of United Kingdom, and ascertain whether the aggregators that were paid billions of Naira to supply over 20 million Set-Top Boxes are capable of meeting the deadline.

Ad

X whatsapp