Following
the launch of Digital Switch Over (DSO) from analogue to digital broadcasting
yesterday in Kaduna, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, said it would be difficult for
state governors to support it.
He said this was particularly so as
most states were still battling to pay workers salaries due to cash crunch.
He urged the Federal Government and
the set-top box manufacturers to come up with a financial engineering that
would enable Nigerians to acquire the set-top boxes and pay over a stated
period of time
Meanwhile, Chairman of the
Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), John Momoh has said that for the
Digital Switch Over to be successful, it must be driven and funded by
government.
Speaking at
the Pinnacles Communications Limited office, the venue for the launch, El-Rufai
commended the present administration for removing all the bottlenecks that
delayed the takeoff of the project and bringing to reality the DSO.
He observed that state governors
under the state aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) had agreed to
support the process considering the enormous opportunities it would provide for
the citizenry and called on the set-top box manufacturers to borrow a leaf from
GSM phone manufacturers on a creative way to entice customers.
His words: “We have discussed
this in the governors forum and have seen the opportunities that it will open
for our people. We will do all they could to support the DSO but it would be
very difficult for the states to financially support the process at this point
in time as most of them are struggling to pay workers salaries.
“I am pleased Kaduna is entering
next century as a digital city.
Speaking, Chairman Pinnacle
Communications Limited, Sir Lucky Omoluwa, noted that the firm was fully
committed to the task ahead and solicited the understanding of the NBC to
comply with the policy of the Federal Government set out clearly in the White
Paper.
“Doing this is not only fair and
equitable but also assures that we shall distribute digital terrestrial signals
nationwide with very minimal delay,” he said.
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