The Federal Government on Wednesday asked the House of Representatives to include internet broadcasting under the control of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
The request was contained in the submission by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at the public hearing into a bill to amend the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission Act organised by the House Committees on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values.
The minister said all online and internet broadcasting entities should be included in section 2 (c) of the bill.
Mohammed, who seemed very comfortable with the present powers of the NBC, said he came with mainly two items of concerns: to prevent the NBC from being made to remit to Treasury Single Account (TSA), and to secure the control over Internet broadcasting and online media in the proposed amendment.
He said very soon, the NBC would join league of agencies of government that do not depend on Federal Government for salaries and other projects, in view of their revenue generating capacity.
His submission did not go down well with other stakeholders, who already felt that the commission was not independent, but was used as a political tool to witch-hunt those opposed to government.