The House of Representatives Committee on Communication, which was set up to investigate tariff increment by cable/satellite television service providers in the country has revealed how Nigerians will soon be enjoying pay-per-view bouquets from Cable TV.
The Deputy Chairman of the committee, Unyime Idem, who representing Ukanafun/Orukanam Federal Constituency in Akwa Ibom revealed these to newsmen.
According to the lawmaker while briefing journalists on Friday in Abuja stated that, he and two other lawmakers had sponsored a bill that has passed the second reading on Thursday to grant power to the National Broadcasting Commission to regulate tariffs imposed on subscribers by service providers.
The lawmaker explained that after the passage of the Bill, “the issue of price (tariff) increment that happens without the control of the regulator even when the product is not consumed is going to be a thing of the past.”
He said, “I want Nigerians to be happy, patient, and hopeful that in a short time, these issues are going to be addressed.
“Apart from the tariff, another thing the bill is seeking to address is the issue of monopoly. When this bill is passed into law, it would also give NBC the powers to open up the sub-sector so that more players can be brought on board.
“We need to broaden the system so that both local and international investors can come in and open up the system where we can have varieties. You can see what is obtainable today in the telecoms industry. Very soon, by the time the bill is passed, it is going to be a free market where everybody has a level playing field.
“Right now, there are a lot of investors that want to come in but the monopoly that is rocking that particular sub-sector cannot accommodate new entrants into the system. So, that is one thing the bill is also seeking to address. So that apart from giving Nigerians benefit for the money they pay, it would also add to the employment issue that Nigerians are yearning for. It is going to create a lot of employment opportunities.
“You can imagine the number of persons one outfit can accommodate in their employment. Then you can think of where we have so many companies coming in. At the end of the day, the number of employees that we are going to generate would be something that would help our economy. So those are the issues that we believe by the time the bill is passed it is going to address them.”
Recall on March 17, 2020, the House set up and mandated the committee to investigate DSTV and other cable television service providers in Nigeria.
The House had, again on June 2, passes another resolution, mandating the panel to invite DSTV to explain its tariff increment on June 1.
However, during one of the investigative hearing by the committee, Idem, noted that the investigation was based on protests by Nigerians against DSTV’s tariff hikes.
Thank you for taking your time in reading through our Journal Today. We wish to always provide you with qualitative Stories as far as GOOD-JOURNALISM is CONCERN. But good journalism costs a lot of money and only good journalism can ensure the possibility of a good society, accountability democracy, and a transparent government.
For continued free access to the best investigative journalism, we ask you to consider subscribing to our daily news updates.
