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| John Momoh,OON. |
CHAIRMAN of Channels Media Group, Mr.
John Momoh yesterday changed a long history as the first private media owner to
chair the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) as he was elected in an
election that was intensely contested.
Mr Momoh pulled about 51 votes to
defeat his closest rival, Mr Abbas Dalhatu from Freedom Radio, Kano who scored
12 votes at the annual delegate conference on Wednesday in Abuja.
BON
was Established in 1973, and is presently comprised of over 100 members and
they collectively own about 250 radio and television stations. Momoh beat his opponent Abbas Dalhatu from Freedom Radio, Kano by
polling 51 votes against who scored 12 votes...
His
Acceptance Speech below:
My Distinguished Colleagues,
fellow Nigerian Broadcasters, today is a new dawn in the annals of Broadcasting
in Nigeria. A new vista of revolutionary ideals has just opened.
This day, we have made history
with the successful conduct of the first-ever election into National Offices of
our great Association. When the future generation comes, they will surely
applaud our conduct of today. I salute you all.
Just before the ovation dies and
the excitement of the elections wear off, let me quickly appreciate you all for
the warmth with which you have embraced my humble offer of new ideas and
ideals. I am overwhelmed by the wide acceptance of the adventurous manifesto I
presented before you.
Suffice to say that almost three
decades after its establishment, The Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria is
yet to earn its deserved respect among professional bodies in Nigeria.
BON is like the proverbial goose
that lays the golden egg but is not accorded its due respect. For those three
decades, BON has not attained the level of a big player in matters that
directly affect its membership. Other smaller bodies have ridden roughshod over
its members.
The leadership I offer, which you
have endorsed by your votes today, is determined to address these and influence
a new thinking, a new respect and a new vision for us all as professional
broadcasters.
In the next two years, I hope, of
course with your support, to lead this noble body to hitherto unimaginable
heights.
Collectively, we shall begin a
rapid development of the broadcast industry in Nigeria while embracing cutting
edge technologies to match our counterparts around the globe.
Together, we shall shape the
future of our industry and give fresh hopes to the future generations of
Nigerian Broadcasters.
Through collaboration, we shall
tackle common challenges frontally and victory is assured.
Our immediate focus would be to
define a new line of Thoughts using the T.A.I.T Agenda
· Re-enforcing existing structures
of our Association to help broadcasters to seize opportunities in the digital
age;
· Advocacy that would ensure that
policy makers are kept abreast of issues that affect the broadcasting industry;
this translates to a better understanding of our stakes by members of the National
and State Assemblies, the Executive Councils at all levels as well as
Regulatory and Administrative machineries of governments;
· Innovation requires us to be
dynamic and we shall introduce innovations that would allow Nigerian
broadcasters to construct new services to match evolving and flexible business
models
· Training and re-training of
personnel would expose them to new ideas, new technologies and engender new
thinking and new ideals.
We also intend, in the coming
days, to begin a systematic but definite process of restructuring of the
secretarial operations of the Association to infuse a new orientation that will
result in a new focus and direction.
In that vein, we intend to
introduce a Board Structure that will run the Association as a private concern
with board committees responsible for:
a. Operations & Regulatory
Affairs
b. Government Relations &
International Affiliations
c. Legal & Copyright Affairs
d. Advertising & Corporate
Relations
e. Training & Overseas Affairs
The immediate tasks ahead of us as
a new administration include the recovery of the huge debts owed us by our
various patrons; the thorny issue of Digital Switch-Over and the crippling
duplicity of levies and taxes.
There is no iota of doubt that not
a few members are affected by one or more of these burning issues. We intend to
hit the ground running as we use these as the pivot of our activities on
take-off in January.
We are optimistic that the current
leadership will trigger the processes for us to leverage on.
My esteemed colleagues, it would
be inappropriate if I failed to acknowledge my fellow gladiators, the gentlemen
who inspired a new zeal in us all by throwing their hats into the ring at the
onset.
Even though some gallantly
withdrew their candidature along the way, they nonetheless stimulated a new
consciousness that has raised the bar in BON.
I want to salute my Mister Tony
Akiotu, Group Managing Director of Daar Communications Plc and Doctor Hakeem
Baba-Ahmed, Chairman of Desmims Broadcast Nigeria Limited. Gentlemen, we
recognise your valour.
To my co-contestants who saw it
all through, Osa Sunny Adun, Chairman Degue Broadcasting Nigeria Limited and
Alhaji Abbas, Managing Director of Freedom Radio – you made the race more
interesting. Your resilience is highly appreciated.
Our dear Colleagues, I want to
congratulate you on making history by electing a female deputy, Hajia Sa’a
Ibrahim, Managing Director of Abubakar Rimi Television, Kano who will pilot
this vehicle with me. Your gender sensitivity would go down into the history
books of broadcasting in Nigeria.
Finally, I want to congratulate
our able Chairman, Yakubu Ibn Mohammed whose first assignment in Office was the
conduct of the highly successful BON National Elections and of course, our very
resourceful, proactive and energetic Executive Secretary, Mister Olusegun
Olaleye. We owe you a debt of gratitude and hope to reward your hard work
someday soon.
To the John Momoh Campaign
Think-Thank, I thank you for running a successful train. We have a collective
responsibility to make every success of this mandate.
God bless you all.
JOHN
MOMOH O.O.N
Abuja.
Wednesday, 27 July, 2016.
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