HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PLEDGE TO STRENGTHEN VOICE OF NIGERIA

By Gabriel Omonhinmin

The Chairman of Nigeria’s House of Representative Committee on Information, Honourable Dino Meleye, has pledged his committee’s resolved to help strengthen Voice of Nigeria to enable it perform its mandatory function  more effectively.

Honourable Meleye made the pledge when he led four other members of his committee on  an over sight function to Voice of Nigeria, where the members tour facilities in the corporation’s transmitting station in Ikorodu and Broadcasting house in Ikoyi Lagos.

The chairman House of Representative Committee on Information, expressed displeasure over the situation of broadcast equipments in most government owned media houses, and said concerted efforts must be made by government to change this ugly situation for the better.

He said himself and other members of his committee were also not too pleased with the maintenance culture in government controlled media organisations.

He however advised, that if Voice of Nigeria, want to remain relevant in the area of international broadcast, it must, go into bilateral programme exchange arrangement, so that it could project the country better.

The Director General of Voice of Nigeria, Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, who led some members of his top management team to receive the House of Representatives members, said the corporation seeks to enhance its core values and statutory mandate by establishing and sustaining a number of strategic mechanisms, such as the provision of adequate broadcast infrastructures and staff welfare.

He said his other challenges are the completion of the corporation’s permanent transmitting station in Abuja which is presently under construction. He said this transmitting station when completed would expand the capacity of VON to reach all the regions and time zones in the world.

He said he is also facing the problem of acquiring more digital studio, facilities, computers, Internet Network Security and major UPS.

Cov?G.O.