Digital Switch Over irreversible says Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has announced that the June 2017 deadline for Digital Switch Over in Nigeria is irreversible.

Alhaji Lai Mohammed made this known in a meeting with Broadcasting Organization of Nigeria (BON), and other media chief Executives in Abuja.

The Minister said that April 30, 2017 has been selected for the pilot test on Digital Switch Over which will be carried out in jos.

Nigeria has made two previous attempts at Digital Switch Over, but failed to achieve it but Alhaji Lai stated that the country cannot fail for the third time. He further assured stakeholders not to be afraid, as the digital switch over will be successful, as the Federal Government has concluded plans for the delivery of about three hundred thousand setup boxes free of charge for the Jos pilot scheme.

He encouraged state government to buy setup boxes for their viewers, through their state media houses.

The media Chief Executives in their response assured the minister of their cooperation towards realizing the Digital Switch Over deadline in Nigeria.

They identified funding as a major challenge that could hamper the realization of the exercise, especially state owned Media Houses.

The International Telecommunication Union had earlier set June 2015 as deadline for the Digital Switch Over, which Nigeria could not meet up, due to some legal framework.