President Muhammadu Buhari has sacked Professor Armstrong Idachaba as the Director General (DG) of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of Nigeria and replaced him with Balarabe Ilelah.
Idachaba, a staffer of the commission, was the DG of NBC in acting capacity until he was replaced with Ilelah, a veteran broadcaster.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, announced the appointment of Ilelah in a statement issued in Abuja on Friday.
He said Ilelah’s appointment would be for five years tenure, in the first instance.
The statement was signed by Mr Segun Adeyemi, the Special Assistant to the President (Media), Office of the Minister of Information and Culture.
Idachaba’s sack is coming amid moves by NBC to censor social media and the reportage of broadcast media organisations.
Idachaba was appointed acting Director-General of the commission, replacing Modibbo Kawu, who was suspended in February 2020 for alleged financial impropriety.
The government had earlier banned the operations of Twitter in the country and threatened to prosecute citizens who still use the social media platform despite the ban.
The Federal government, through the NBC, ordered radio and television stations to deactivate their Twitter accounts.
The NBC, in an advertorial, had asked all social media platforms and online broadcasting service providers in Nigeria to apply for the broadcast licence.
No words from the government on why Idachaba was not retained as substantive DG of the Commission.