My Naija News - Suspension of Channels’ licence illegal, an overkill, says AC

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Suspension of Channels’ licence illegal, an overkill, says AC

Thursday, 18 September 2008

The Action Congress (AC) has described the suspension of the operating licence of Channels TV over its airing of the ‘story’ on President Umaru Yar’Adua’s resignation on health grounds as illegal and a shocking case of killing a fly with a sledge hammer.

In a statement issued in Abuja Thursday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the action also amounted to a declaration of war on the free press, which the government cannot and will never win.

It therefore called on President Yar’Adua to immediately order the lifting of the suspension, which violates the code of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), and which cannot serve any purpose beyond putting a distance between the government and the media.

"First, the NBC cannot just suspend or revoke the licence of an offending station without first warning the station or giving it a fair hearing, among other procedures prescribed by the NBC code. Flouting the provisions of the code amounts to an act of illegality and lack of due process by the NBC.

"It also amounts to a terrible faux pas for a government that touts the rule of law as a mantra to so wilfully act illegally. Since we believe the so-called suspension may not have had the blessing of President Yar’Adua, the apostle of the rule of law, we urge him to intervene to ensure that due process is followed in this case," AC said.

The party reiterated its earlier assertion that the television station acted unprofessionally by airing such a sensitive story without cross-checking with the presidency, where we believe it has an accredited correspondent.

It said, however, that in view of Channels TV’s impressive record as a news channel of note since its inception, it would be unfair and unjust to destroy the station and push its employees to the job market just because it has committed an avoidable mistake.

AC also repeated its earlier statement that such a knee jerk response by the government has no place in a democracy.

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