Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON)

BON NEWS

2009-12-13

Osita Nweke

51st General Assembly of BON: Communique

COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE 51ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF BROADCASTING ORGANISATIONS OF NIGERIA (BON)
HELD AT RADIO LAGOS/EKO FM MULTIPURPOSE HALL, FROM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, TO FRIDAY
DECEMBER 11, 2009

See Photos Here

PREAMBLE

The General Assembly of the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) with the
theme “Countdown to 2010: Mid-Term Peer Review of Digital Transition” was held at Radio Lagos/Eko FM Complex, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja, Lagos from Wednesday, December 9 to Friday December 11, 2009.

The opening ceremony of the Assembly was attended by electronic Media Chief Executives from across the country and by industry and allied stakeholders.

The Central Working Committee had earlier, on Wednesday December 9, 2009 held a meeting in the Conference Room of the Radio Lagos/Eko FM Complex.

OPENING

The General Assembly was declared open by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) who was represented by the Deputy Governor,
Princess Sarah Sosan. He charged industry-stakeholders to uphold their social responsibility to the Nigerian State, even while pursuing commercial
viability. The Governor urged broadcasters to re-dedicate themselves to the production of broadcast content to stimulate the nation’s youth and galvanize them to make positive and productive contributions to National Discourse at all times.

In his own remarks, the Honourable Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Lagos State Mr. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele (Esq), described BON’s theme for the 51st General Assembly “Countdown to 2012: Mid-Term Peer Review on Digital Transition” as apt and in tandem with the Lagos State Government’s penchant for excellence.

In tune with the state administration’s guiding principles, the Information and Strategy Commissioner said a policy of non-interference had evolved in the handling of state owned electronic media in Lagos and urged other State Governments to toe the same line.

Addressing the Assembly, the Chairman, Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa identified Lagos (the host state) as the barometer in the measurement of success in the analogue–to–digital transfer. To help member organizations remain focused and sustain the momentum of the process, Jijiwa said BON had decided to include the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in its quarterly deliberations. According to him, the theme was selected to give the delegates an opportunity to share experiences on digitization of broadcasting in view of the challenges posed to the future of the industry. He said the Assembly should also look at ways of sustaining collaboration among member stations, and evolve new strategies to sustain staff
training in member stations.

The General Manager, Radio Lagos/Eko Fm, Mrs. Tinuade Aina Badejo, reiterated the need for all members of BON to attend Assemblies because such fora were replete with advantages for the industry and allied stakeholders. She said the General Assemblies afforded members opportunities to get acquainted with each other and learn about each other’s culture.

It was also an avenue for industry actors to rub minds on the challenges of the broadcasting profession.

Mrs. Aina Badejo also urged fellow members of BON to explore other means of generating revenue to support the industry.

Goodwill messages came from the Registrar of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, who represented the Honorable Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili and from the Chairman of the House Committee on Diaspora, Honorable Abike Dabiri Erewa.

Presentations

During the General Assembly, five presentations were made:

1. The BBC World Service Trust, a charity arm of the BBC World Service made a presentation on the activities of the organization and expressed gratitude to BON for their collaboration in promoting their programmes on HIV/AIDS and Good Governance.

2. The One Goal Project made a presentation on the objective of the project which is to promote education using football especially the 2010 World Cup. The Project Coordinator, Mr. Martin Davies called on BON to help in promoting the education for the young, pointing out that about seventeen million children world-wide are out of school, while Nigeria with eight million children out of school now leads the pack.

3. The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Engr Yomi Bolarinwa spoke on the need for broadcast stations to concentrate on content generation while another body provides distribution platform. He said acquisition of transmission equipment is no longer a good commercial proposition pointing out that currently there is confusion in the way and manner stations source their hardwares resulting in colossal waste of resources.

4. In his presentation the Chief Executive, OSMI, Mr. Rotimi Pedro described as success the collaboration with BON in acquisition of broadcast rights for FIFA tournaments in the past years and expressed the hope that the 2010 World Cup broadcast will be a resounding success.

5. Also a presentation of Silverbird Communications Limited discussed the effective and efficient monitoring of programmes especially commercials. He urged members of BON to acquire the technology and software to ensure efficient and accurate tracking and monitoring of the commercials.

Resolutions

1. BON urges Federal Government to expedite action on the report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Digitization.

2. BON resolves to demand a road map from NBC on the digital transition to guide member stations and their owners and to ensure that NBC writes State Governors to facilitate the funding of the digital transition.

3. BON notes the success of the joint transmission of FIFA Confederation Cup, Under-20 and Under-17 tournaments and urges member organizations to prepare adequately for the 2010 World Cup six months away.

4. BON notes that the joint transmission of the English Premier League ends in May 2010 and expresses the desire to bid for terrestrial right for the 2010 – 2013 Premier League.

5. BON calls for carving out Nigeria as a territory for the acquisition of the broadcast rights of future Africa Cup of Nations.

6. BON resolves to pay for broadcast right of the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games for the interest of Nigeria.

7. On industry debts, BON notes the need for member stations to develop individual policy and advises against acceptance of advertisement from unregistered
agencies and ensure that all adverts carry APCON certificates.

8. BON considers successful, the Solsan workshop for Chief Executives held at Tinapa Resort, Calabar and calls for regular workshops in collaboration with donor agencies to upgrade the performance of member stations.

9. BON commends the success of the African Media Leadership Forum and its admission into the fold.

10. The Assembly expresses its appreciation to the Government and people of Lagos State, the Management and Staff of Radio Lagos/Eko Fm and members of the Local Organizing Committee for making the 51st General Assembly a huge success.

11. The next General Assembly is scheduled to hold in the first quarter of 2010.

ABUBAKAR B.JIJIWA - Chairman, BON
OSITA NWEKE - Executive Secretary (BON)