Tinubu approves low-interest loans for media houses

• Idris urged IBAN members to develop bankable proposals to access the financing facility being offered by the federal government.
• The minister threatened that going forward, the Advertising Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ARCON) would be mandated to ensure that all advertising revenues due to media organisations were released to them promptly.

President Bola Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, through the Bank of Industry (BOI), to extend its single-digit interest rate financing to media organisations in the country.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during a courtesy visit by members of the Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN) to his office in Abuja.

Idris stated that the gesture was in line with the administration’s resolve to create an enabling business environment for the media to operate in Nigeria.

He said, “Let me say that the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation under my leadership, as part of our five pillars, will support all media platforms in this country, whether they are public or private.”

“I can tell you that the president has directed the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to extend financing to media organisations at single-digit interest rates. I think you need to take advantage of that.”

The minister urged IBAN members to develop bankable proposals to access the financing facility being offered by the federal government. He also decried the wilful violation of advertising industry payment standards by some practitioners who failed to remit advertising payments to media organisations within the approved 90 days.

Idris threatened that going forward, the Advertising Regulatory Commission of Nigeria (ARCON) would be mandated to ensure that all advertising revenues due to media organisations were released to them promptly. He also advised the private broadcasters to key into the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) initiative of the federal government to bring down the cost of their operations through cheaper access to energy.

In response to a request from IBAN regarding the resumption of Digital Switch Over (DSO) rollout, Idris expressed deep concerns over the historically slow progress of the DSO initiative and stressed the need for a renewed and vigorous approach to ensure timely completion.