The Minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, has asked the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to stop airing the ongoing TV reality show, Big Brother Naija (BBN) dues to some reasons.
According Lai Mohammed, the reason for this is because of the fears of a possible spread of COVID-19 among housemates.
The cable reported that on Wednesday, Armstrong Idachaba, acting director-general of the NBC, told senior management members that he had been directed by the minister to shut down the show. Mohammed reportedly wanted the letter shutting down the show to come from the NBC because of the general opinion that he is bent on sending MultiChoice Ltd, producers of the show, out of Nigeria.
However, insiders told TheCable that the NBC management was not well disposed to the move to shut down BBN, with some of them saying there was no basis for it. A director is said to have reminded the meeting that NBC had already sought explanation from Multichoice on a possible violation of COVID-19 protocols with the airing of the show. The letter was sent on July 1, before the show began.
MultiChoice replied with detailed explanations on measures taken in collaboration with the Lagos state government, whose agency, Lagos State Safety Commission, gave the green light for the show.
