nigeria: JOURNALIST ARRAIGNED OVER ELECTION PROTEST

MEDIA IN NIGERIA #02 - 14 (21 APRIL 2003)

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MEDIA IN NIGERIA is a weekly publication on developments within and
affecting the media/communication/freedom of expression sector in Nigeria.

It is an initiative of the Institute for Media and Society (IMS), a
non-profit,
non-governmental organization based in Lagos, Nigeria.
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NEWS

MEDIA - GENERAL
-JOURNALIST ARRAIGNED OVER ELECTION PROTEST
-NUJ RAISES MONITORS FOR ELECTION

PRINT MEDIA
-TIME, NEWSWEEK NOW N350

BROADCAST MEDIA
-ARTISTE FLAYS FRCN BOSS OVER BAN OF RAP MUSIC
-ELECTION 2003: NBC SETS UP MONITORING COMMITTES FOR BROADCAST
STATIONS
-ABIKE DABIRI, JOURNALIST, ELECTED MP

INFOTECH
-ECONET COMMENDED OVER EMERGENCY SERVICE
-BPE POSTPONES NITEL'S IPO
-PENTASCOPE: MINISTER, BPE DISAGREE OVER RETIREMENT OF NITEL
CHIEFS

ADVERTISING
-AAPN TASKS NPAN ON DEBT BURDEN

Media - General

JOURNALIST ARRAIGNED OVER ELECTION PROTEST

A journalist and four members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) were
arraigned at a PortHarcout, Rivers State, Magistrate court for participating
in a protest march against the result of the April 12 Federal Legislature
elections, which the party claimed were marred by irregularities.

The five accused including Naabirada Akpo, a journalist with a local
tabloid, Ajushenwo Imoh, Boma Dokubo and Florence Amadi were charged
unlawful assembly and action capable of disturbing the peace, an offence
punishable under section 70 of the criminal code cap 30 Vol. Laws of the
Eastern Nigeria 1963 as applicable to Rivers State.

Akpo was covering the protest march when he was picked up. The accused
persons have however been released on bail.

NUJ RAISES MONITORS FOR ELECTION

As part of its efforts to ensure smooth and credible elections, the Nigeria
Union of Journalists (NUJ) was among local and international organisations
which monitored the just concluded federal legislative, governorship and
presidential elections in Nigeria.

Thirty-seven teams each made of five senior journalists monitored the
election in each of the states of the federation and Abuja, under the aegis
of the Media Monitoring Group (MMG).

Smart Adeyemi, national President of the NUJ, explained that the decision to
set up the MMA, in collaboration with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE)
was to ensure a fair and violence-free election. The MMG is expected to
produce an independent report on the election.

Meanwhile, Joshua Dariye, governor of Plateau State, has urged journalists
to be patriotic and portray the country in good light. He said journalists
should put the national interest before any regional, ethnic or other
parochial consideration in their reports and interpretation of the political
developments in the country.

PRINT MEDIA

TIME, NEWSWEEK NOW N350

Beginning May 5, 2003, Nigerian readers of leading international
newsmagazines, Time and Newsweek, will have to pay more for the magazines.

From that date the magazines which previously sold for N200 will now go for
N350 per copy.

According to a release by marketers of the magazines, the cover price
increase is designed to meet "rising production costs, freight and handling
charges," among others.

BROADCAST MEDIA

ARTISTE FLAYS FRCN BOSS OVER BAN OF RAP MUSIC

The ban on rap music from all stations of the Federal Radio Corporation of
Nigeria (FRCN) by the Director - General, Eddie Iroh, has continued to
attract condemnation from stakeholders in the industry.

Daddy Fresh, an artiste, said the measure lacked wisdom, adding that he
didn't see how the ban on rap music would improve the fortunes of the FRCN.
He lamented that the FRCN boss had opted to stiffle the growth of the music
industry, when he ought to be in the vanguard of efforts to improve it.

He urged the FRCN boos to rescind the decision in the interest of the
Nigerian music industry.

ELECTION 2003: NBC SETS UP MONITORING COMMITTES FOR BROADCAST STATIONS

Determined to ensure that broadcast stations in the country do not flout the
guidelines on election coverage, the Nation Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
has set up committees to monitor radio and televisions stations across
Nigeria.

For effective monitoring, the country has been divided into ten zones by the
NBC. Silas Yisa, the Director General of the NBC, said the measure is
designed to ensure among others, that TV, radio, cable and satellite
stations stop election campaign jingles and announcements not later than 24
hours to the polling day, avoid broadcasts likely to cause public disorder,
and do not broadcast results that are not announced by the authorized
electoral officer. He commended stations which have maintained balance and
fairness in their coverage of the general elections.

NTA'S ABIKE DABIRI NOW MP - ELECT

Award-winning broadcaster and former presenter of NTA'S Newsline programme,
Abike Dabiri, has been elected member of the lower house of parliament, the
Federal House of Representatives.

Dabiri who was elected on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in
the Federal legislative elections held on April 12, is to represent the
Ikorodu Federal Constituency of Lagos State.

She defeated incumbent, Honourable Dorcas Odunjirin - Junaid of the Peoples
Democratic Party, among others. With her election, Dabiri is fully set on a
new career in politics having resigned her appointment with the NTA after 15
years of service.

INFOTECH

ECONET COMMENDED OVER EMERGENCY SERVICE

Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited has received applause over its initiative,
the Econet crisis centre, with the latest commendation coming from The
Guardian, one of Nigeria's leading newspapers.

In an editorial titled "A worthy initiative", the newspaper described the
initiative under which Econet, one of Nigeria's Global system of Mobile
Communications (GSM) operators, hopes to provide emergency medical services
to its subscribers across the country as "laudable and creative".

The Econet crisis centre which is designed to take advantage of the vacuum
created by the non-existence of functional emergency response and evacuation
services within the county's social infrastructural system, offers three
types of services: Emergency Medical Dispatch, Emergency and non-emergency
medical advice, and Access to police and fire services.

The Guardian said the significance of the private initiative is " a sad
commentary on the lack of emergency response framework either in the
Nigerian health sector or as part of national security apparatus".

Meanwhile, Econet has announced plans to resume the sales of its pre-paid
GSM lines to subscribers in Abuja and other cities. The sales of the
package had been suspended as part of the company's strategic business plan
which recently yielded significant expansion in its network.

BPE POSTPONES NITEL'S IPO

Potential investors in the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) may
have to wait for some time to actualize their dreams of acquiring equity in
the national carrier.

The Bureau for Public Enterprises, BPE, has reportedly shifted the Initial
Public offer of the equities of NITEL till after the presidential elections,
even as indications emerged that the mandatory filing with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) for NITEL IPO has still not been carried out
due to gaps in the telecom company's account.

The idea of offering Nitel shares to the interesting public became an
attractive option after its sale to a core investor, Investors International
(London) Limited IILL collapsed last year.

PENTASCOPE: MINISTER, BPE DISAGREE OVER RETIREMENT OF NITEL CHIEFS

The recommendation by the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) for the
immediate retirement of the managing director and four executive directors
of the Nigerian Communications Limited, ostensibly to provide a safe berth
for Pentascope international, the new management contractor, may have
pitched the bureau against the communications minister, Bello Mohammed, who
oppose the move.

Mohammed, in a memorandum to Vice President Atiku Abubakar, reportedly
argued that the retirement of NITEL'S top management would be amount to a
waste of resoures to the nation considering the enormous investment in their
training. Moreover, he was said to have argued that the crop of NITEL
managers would be needed to give the expatriate managers the required guide
for the NITEL network to work optimally.

The BPE had earlier advised the Vice President to sack NITEL's executive
directors and managing director to smoothen the takeover of NITEL by
Pentascope International.

However, two of the executive directors have taken pre-emptive measures to
stave off any ignoble removal by resigning their appointments. One of them,
Kunle Bello, resigned with effect from April 7.

ADVERTISING

AAPN TASKS NPAN ON DEBT BURDEN

The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has been called upon
to cooperate with other sectoral groups to find a solution to the debt
burden in the nation's advertising industry.

Bola Thomas, out-going president of the Association of Advertising
Practitioners of Nigeria (AANP), who made the appeal at a briefing in Lagos,
regretted that no progress has been made towards resolving this problem
after the 2002 media summit.

Thomas said the AAPN was open to dialogue with all the sectoral groups "in
arriving at mutual understanding of industry issues as a first step to
finding lasting solutions".

The debt issue has been a sore point in relationship between advertising
agencies and media owners. The electronic and print media are owed millions
of naira by agencies.

While the media accuse the agencies of willfully refusing to pay their debt
even after collecting money from their clients, the agencies claim they are
unable to pay because the clients have not paid. As the counter accusations
between the media, agencies, and clients continue, Thomas said "The problem
we are trying to avoid is having the situation degenerate into confrontation
in an unpleasant way, which will not be good for the growth of the
industry".

Meanwhile, the AAPN has denied allegation that it has a predictable
leadership succession pattern in which leaders graduates from being
secretary to vice president and ultimately president. According to Bola
Thomas, every member of the association is free to aspire to its leadership.
"Our constitution does not have any pre-arranged order of succession" she
said.

-----ENDS----

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