*Buhari sacks NBC DG
In a surprise move that has thrown the communication sector into a limbo, President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to confirm the appointment of the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Prof Armstrong Idachaba.
He was appointed acting Director-General of the commission replacing Modibbo Kawu who was suspended for alleged financial impropriety in February 2020.
On Friday, the Ministry of Information and Culture announced the appointment of Balarabe Shehu Ilelah, a broadcaster, as the Director-General of the NBC.
The appointment is coming in the wake of the furore surrounding the ban on Twitter and other moves to regulate social media.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, in a statement in Abuja on Friday said Ilelah’s appointment is for a tenure of five years in the first instance.
He did not give any reasons why the president did not confirm Idachaba for the position in a substantive capacity.
The government had earlier banned the operations of Twitter in the country and threatened to prosecute citizens who still use the social media platform despite the ban. Radio and television stations have been directed to deactivate their Twitter accounts.
