The history of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) goes back to 1959 when it was launched as the Western Nigerian Television Services (WNTV). By 1962, the three regional governments that were in place in Nigeria had established the Nigerian Television Service (NTS). With the creation of 12 states in Nigeria, more television services were established. By 1976, all television stations in Nigeria were taken over by the Federal Government and merged into the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). The broadcaster grew from 10 stations in its early days to a chain with 101 stations today, including regional channels, thematic stations and a broadcaster catering to an international audience.
Media assets
Television: NTA Aba, NTA Abeokuta, NTA Abuja, NTA Plus Abuja, NTA Ado-Ekiti, NTA Akure, NTA Asaba, NTA Awka, NTA Bauchi, NTA Benin, NTA Birnin-Kebbi, NTA Calabar, NTA Damaturu, NTA Dutse, NTA Enugu, NTA Gombe, NTA Gusau, NTA Ibadan, NTA Ife, NTA Ijebu-Ode, NTA Ilorin, NTA International, NTA Jalingo, NTA Jos, NTA Kaduna, NTA Kano, NTA Katsina, NTA 2 Channel 5 Lagos, NTA Channel 10 Lagos, NTA Lafia, NTA Lokoja, NTA Maiduguri, NTA Makurdi, NTA Minna, NTA Ondo, NTA Osogbo, NTA Owerri, NTA Oyo, NTA Port Harcourt, NTA Sokoto, NTA Uyo, NTA Yenagoa, NTA Yola, NTA Sapele, NTA Education, NTA Sports
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
NTA was established by the Nigerian Television Authority Act of 1976 as a state-owned corporation.
NTA’s highest governing structure is the Board of Directors, which, according to the law, should consist of 11 members, most of them appointed by the government. However, the law states that the President of the country can, through a presidential order, increase or decrease the size of the board. Now, NTA has a board of eight members, all government-appointed (by the President upon recommendation of the information and culture minister). The Director General, also part of the board, is in charge of managing the company through a management board. The General Director is appointed by the minister after approval by the President.
As part of the government’s reorganization of public service operations, President Bola Tinubu sacked the governing boards at 14 state-run organizations, including NTA, in June 2023. Hence, until new heads were appointed at the organizations affected by the decision, President Tinubu was to handle the tasks of the dismissed boards directly.
In October 2023, Tinubu appointed Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos as head of the NTA as part of a series of appointments at state-run agencies and bodies.
Source of funding and budget
The network is almost entirely funded by the Nigerian federal government. In 2020, NTA received a state subsidy of NGN 6.7bn (US$ 17.5m), according to the latest budgetary data available. The subsidy was granted through the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture. The company also generates revenues from advertising, which are estimated by local experts to account for some 20% of the NTA’s total budget.
Between 2010 and 2019, the federal government awarded subsidies of NGN 67bn (US$ 43m at 2024 prices) to NTA, according to data based on official budget documents. Moreover, the government also announced plans in 2020 to spend some NGN 181.5bn (US$ 500m) on digitizing NTA.
In 2023, NTA received a state subsidy totaling NGN 8.33bn (US$ 10.8m), according to data collected from the latest Ministry of Information and Culture report.
Editorial independence
Although it is required by law to provide, as a public service, “independent and impartial television broadcasting for general reception within Nigeria,” NTA remains a media outlet heavily controlled by the government. The act that established NTA requires the broadcaster to provide air space for ministerial speeches and to broadcast announcements at the request of government authorities. Various papers and reports in recent years have indicated that the NTA is a government mouthpiece, propagating the ideologies of the parties in power.
Speaking during a budget defense session at the House of Representatives in October 2021 in Abuja, the director general of NTA, Yakubu Mohammed, complained that ministries and state bodies all pressurize NTA to get preferential coverage, putting the station in a difficult position.
According to its Service Charter, NTA is supposed to have quality control mechanisms at various levels to ensure programs meet a series of quality criteria. However, there is no evidence that these controls establish NTA’s editorial independence.
NTA has a team of monitors who follow the programs aired by NTA to spot any quality-related problems. The team is coordinated by the broadcaster’s Research, Development and Monitoring Unit. NTA claims that the reports of this team are sent to the NTA’s management on a daily basis, triggering prompt responses from the management. At the same time, citizens can send their feedback and complaints to the NTA’s monitoring team.
July 2024