The Northern Broadcast Media Owners Association (NBMOA) has urged the Federal Government to reciprocate the media patriotic effort by extending a hand of friendship to ensure measures toward addressing national security.
The group made the appeal in a statement issued by its Acting Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Yelwa, in Sokoto on Saturday, against the backdrop of the N5 million fine slammed on some media houses by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
They called on the NBC to rescind the decision in order to open opportunities for nurturing cooperation and synergy between the media and government.
“The programme in question is globally adjudged to be balanced, fair and ethical, even though the NBC deemed it to have glorified banditry and breached national security.
“Whereas it’s not the intention of NBMOA to join issues with the NBC, we humbly wish to state that any objective review of the programme would acknowledge the depth, ingenuity, patriotism and professionalism of its producers.
“Security challenges currently confronting the nation require a new thinking and strategy. This, we believe, was what the producers of the programme attempted to do,” it said.
The statement added that NBMOA was convinced that at this point of the state of national affair, the media must not shy away from discussing knotty national issues frankly, sincerely and comprehensively.
“NBMOA believes that the many positive takeaways from the programme, if property harnessed by all concerned, would go along way in aiding our understanding of the ecosystem of banditry in Nigeria,” it said. (NAN)