President of the Senate, Senator David Mark, today called on the members of the Boko Haram Sect to accept the overture made by the Federal Government for dialogue.
Senator Mark , who made this call at the Stakeholders’ Broadcast Summit organised by the Broadcasting organisation of Nigeria (BON) held in Lagos, today, also challenged broadcasters to fashion out programmes that would assist the Federal Government in stemming the tides of terrorism.
“There is no government that would fold her arms and watch innocent citizens being murdered in schools, markets, churches as well as mosques. This carnage has to stop.
“As brothers and sisters, we must listen to each other’s grievances. I believe that in line with this, the Federal Government has expressed readiness for dialogue and I urge the members of the Boko Haram, their representatives, sponsors or sympathizers to key into this dialogue,” he further said.
Stressing that the Federal Government cannot engage in monologue with Boko Haram, the President of the Senate said “the members of the sect must be courageous enough to come out and state their grievances. They should be bold and state their anger so that the nation can find solution to those grievances.”
Assuring the broadcasters of the readiness of the National Assembly to enact laws that would ensure that the nation’s broadcast stations meet the challenges of digitization in 2015, Senator Mark however challenged broadcasters to fashion out programs that would help in the fight against terrorism particularly
He said various regulatory incentives would be considered to entice broadcasters to digitize, adding that the “National Assembly is willing to partner with the National Broadcasing Commission (NBC) and other stakeholders to establish fresh legislation to facilitate the process of digitization
“Broadcast organizations have to be encouraged through tax reliefs and other incentives to comply with switchover time-lines,” adding that, “the National Assembly would continue to create a legislative environment that would facilitate the process of digitization and make the benefits and available to Nigerians.”
