Buhari’s supporters violated broadcast code – NBC

The Director-general of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Ishaq Kawu, has accused some supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari in Kano State of violating the broadcast code.

Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum on Thursday, Kawu said when a radio station was penalised, some politicians told Buhari that the action was taken against the station out of its support for him.

He, however, said the stations broke the code through “unbalanced programmes, unsubstantiated remarks and phone-in programmes where the audience get direct access to the studio without screening”.

“There are some people who associated themselves with President Muhammadu Buhari and uttered unsubstantiated and unfounded remarks on radio,” he said.

“When NBC sanctioned the radio station, the politicians moved to villa and lodged a complaint that NBC fined a station for supporting Buhari,” he added.

On his part, Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said in 2015, Kano was saved from crisis after the commission lodged a complaint to NBC.

“It is the prompt intervention of INEC that saved the state from crisis. But when INEC lodged a complaint to NBC on the incidence, the commission fined the station alone,” Jega said.