Less than one week after the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) filed charges against the Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, and three others over alleged irregularities in the award of a N2.5billion alleged Digital Switch Over (DSO) contract, followers of the matter have chided the agency.
Many experts who voiced their anger on the suit, described the move as efforts in futility considering the fact that the leadership of the agency had all relevant approvals from the supervising Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
They described the suit as waste of ailing government resources in looking for what was not missing in the first instance.
Business Hilights recalls that when alleged payment trended late last year, the Head of Media at NBC had explained that “The payment was paid to Pinnacle for services rendered. The truth of the matter is whoever is accusing NBC should come up with documents to back the claim”.
Continuing, she averred that “The NBC is a transparent agency and has paid our stakeholders for different services rendered. How much payment will NBC be making public in the media? That is not our practice. It is not for NBC to be defending itself when we know that all payments made are within our purview and if someone is aggrieved, should provide documents to back up the claim. Normal due process was followed; there is nothing secretive about it at all. Agencies are empowered to make payments and whatever payment made was within our power for a just cause”.
Before now, followers of the issue had queried if NBC has the powers to seek services worth up to N2.5bn without following a bidding process through the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).
They queried why it has been very hard for NBC to reveal the actual services rendered within the short period so that it will be easy for the public to weigh if such services formed part of the original jobs of Pinnacle Communications or truly a job or services that can be outsourced in the first instance.
However, giving further insights, the Ministry official recalled that “Pinnacle Communications took NBC to Court in the beginning over what they perceived as a negation of the bid agreement because from the licence given to them, certain things were later removed and sourced to some third parties”.
“But when Lai Mohammed came in, he brokered the peace between Pinnacle and NBC. Part of the settlement deal is for Pinnacle to start rolling out in Abuja. It is important to understand that it was not Pinnacle’s priority to start rolling out immediately after the peace process. It was vide government’s directive and compulsion that they started rolling out and as you know, you cannot compel somebody to do something without empowerment which boils down to the funding.
Explaining more on why the payment was made, the source averred that “since Pinnacle Communications started transmission in Abuja on December 22, 2016, they have not earned a kobo because the stations they are carrying are actually supposed to pay for carriage of their signals”.
“But because we are still in the period of dual carriage, whereby stations like AIT, Channels, NTA and others are still running their analogue transmission in Abuja, the stations cannot be compelled to start signal service payment to Pinnacle.
As long as they are still running their analogue transmitter, you cannot expect them to pay signal distributor. In the light of this scenario, it was decided that government is going to foot the bills for those carriages.
Continuing, the official noted that “As it is, government owes Pinnacle for all the carriages of over 30 TV signals they have been carrying in Abuja”.
“Now the company has been working in six select states across the six geopolitical zones with installations of transmitters. I think they have almost concluded Kaduna, they are now moving on to either Kebbi or Gombe and others in that sequence.
“What should be understood is that Pinnacle has its roadmap on how to rollout without stressing its pockets, but when government want speed, it has to bring in money for that and that is what is happening.
“Government though the NBC felt that to sustain the DSO, the Pinnacle Communications deserves some financial relief so as to continue pending when it will return to profitability on the actual switch off of analogue transmission.
“Am sure NBC must have secured some kinds of approvals before making the payments.
On why the stations were not able to switch over their analogue signals, the source said “They cannot switch off yet in Abuja because of the sensitivity of the city’s topography which is full of ups and downs”.
“For example, if you leave Abuja, going to Karu, the whole population under the shadow of one hill cannot receive digital signal. What is happening is that Pinnacle had done their survey of all those areas that cannot get digital signals but are getting analogue signals vide their Antenna from different directions.
For example, NTA has a station near Keffi, that fills the gap backward to them in these areas.
With these observations, Pinnacle has identified transmission gaps to be filled and they cannot do that until the raining season recedes.
“The truth of the matter is that until everybody in every city including Abuja is receiving signals, there will be no switchover and that means also that government will continue to pay for the digital signals pending when the TV stations will be compelled to put off analogue transmission.
It is important to note that analogue coverage must be replicated with digital coverage in every corner of a city or state before NBC can compel owners of the private stations to switch off analogue transmission and that is when we can say we have concluded DSO in Nigeria.
On the charges filed before a Federal High Court, Abuja, sequel to an investigation by the ICPC on the matter, other joined in the suit include Dipo Onifade, Sir Lucky Omonuwa and Pinnacle Communications Limited.
Omonuwa was accused of transferring N537. 25million out of the N2.5billion to a Bureau De Change operator for the dollar equivalent.
The said dollar equivalent was delivered in cash to Omonuwa at his residence in Kaduna.
Kawu and Pinnacle Communications had, however, denied the allegations levelled against them, describing the ICPC as being ignorant of the entire process of the contract award.
All the suspects will face trial for 12-count charge before a Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, no date has been fixed for their arraignment.
The charges, dated January 14, 2019, were however filed by Henry Emore and Adenekan Shogunle.
The charges read in part: “That you, Is’haq Kawu Modibbo, Sir Lucky Omonuwa and Dipo Onifade sometime between December 2016 and May 2017 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, conspired with each other to use the position of , Is’haq Kawu Modibbo as the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to confer corrupt advantage on Sir Lucky Omonuwa, your friend and associate by recommending to the Hon. Minister of Information and Culture to approve payment of N2.5billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by Sir Lucky Omonuwa as seed grant under the DSO of the Federal Government of Nigeria when you knew that the said company was not entitled to receive such grant and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1) (c ) and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“That you, Is’haq Kawu Modibbo on or about the 11th May, 2017 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court used your position as the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission(NBC) to confer corrupt advantage on Sir Lucky Omonuwa, your friend and associate by recommending to the Hon. Minister of Information to approve payment of N2.5billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by Sir Lucky Omonuwa as seed grant under the DSO of the Federal Government of Nigeria when you knew that the said company was not entitled to receive such grant and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“That you, Is’haq Kawu Modibbo on or about the 11th May, 2017 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court knowingly made a statement in a memo dated 11th May 2017 to the Minister of Information and Culture with intent to mislead him in the performance of his duties as supervisor of the disbursement of the sum of N10billion released by the Federal Government of Nigeria to facilitate the Digital Switch-Over Programme by recommending the payment of N2.5billion to Pinnacle Communications Limited, a private company owned by Sir Lucky Omonuwa and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 25(1) and punishable under Section 25(1) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“That you, Sir Lucky Omonuwa on or about 2nd June, 2017 in Abuja within the jurisdiction of this court received the sum of N2.55billion paid into Zenith Bank Plc account No. 1023875804 of Pinnacle Communications Limited by NBC, when you knew that the said sum is the subject of an offence under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 24 and punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“That you Sir Lucky Omonuwa between June-August 2017 transferred an aggregate sum of N537.25million out of the sum of N2.5billion in the Zenith Bank Plc Account No. 1023875804 operated by Pinnacle Communications Limited to Sadat Investment Limited, a Bureau De Change operator and thereafter took possession of the dollar equivalent of the said sum which was delivered to you in cash at your residence in Kaduna when you knew that the said sum is a direct proceed of criminal activities to wit: conspiracy, false information to a public officer and abuse of office.
“You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 11(a) and punishable under Section 15(C) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 s amended.”
