Modibbo
Kawu, NBC Boss
Pinnacle
Modibbo
Kawu, NBC Boss
Pinnacle DSO Facility, World Best, ICPC Witness Tells
Court
Engr. Friday Ukwela, a prosecution witness called by the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission
(ICPC), on Monday told a Federal High sitting in Abuja that the
Digital Switch Over facility put in place by Pinnacle
Communications Ltd (PCL), “is world class.”
Ukwela, a Director Engineering and Technical, NBC, made the
disclosure before Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo Giwa, trial judge in
the on going trial of the Director General of National Broadcasting
Commission (NBC) Ishaq Modibbo and three others.
Testifying upon cross examination by counsel to Pinnacle
Communications Ltd (4th defendant) Ama Etuwewe, the ICPC witness
also stated that the DSO project “is a very expensive venture”
adding that the Minister of Information, Prof Lai Mohammed, who
approved the payment of N2.5billion to PCL, “is familiar with DSO
project but does not know substantantially everything about
DSO”.
“I know that the DSO is a very expensive project.
“Yes, I was part of the team that visited and inspected the DSO
facility put in place by Pinnacle Communications Ltd.
“It is a world class facilty and has been in operation till
date” the witness told the court, while answering questions from
the 4th defendant’s lawyer.
Further more, the fifth prosecution witness stated that going by
the government White Paper on the DSO project, “it was agreed that
signal distributors should be paid for services rendered.
However, Ukwela disclosed that television stations whose signals
are being distributed by PCL across the length and breadth of
Nigeria have not been paying for Carriage Fees because the fees
have not been determined by the industry.
It would be recalled that one Charles Adama, the fourth
prosecution witness had admitted that the N2.5bn was part of the
N10bn released by the Federal Government to execute the DSO Project
in the country and that the NBC had not received any complaint from
the FG in respect of the money paid to PCL.
According to Adama, “the presidency did not complain up to this
moment; the Information Minister agreed that he approved the
N2.5bn, and has not written to withdraw the approval up till now,
neither did he inform us that he was misled nor told us in writing
that PCL was not entitled to the N2.5bn.
The ICPC investigator said he did not know that the national
launch of the DSO was performed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on
behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari on the site of the Pinnacle
Broadcast Centre on Mpape Hill in December 2016, months before the
payment made to PCL because they did not visit the site or the
Kaduna Broadcast Centre during investigations.
He said he was aware that PCL paid over N600 million for the
signal distributor license in 2014 but did not know that it
subsequently took NBC to court for breach of license agreement
which was withdrawn following negotiations initiated by the Buhari
Administration in 2016 to resume DSO implementation.
By PRNigeria