Reps direct NCDC to test MultiChoice CEO for COVID-19

TNT Newsline July 22, 2020 2 minutes read

The House of Representatives has told Director-General of the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, Dr. Ihekweazu Chikwe, to locate the Chief Executive Officer of Multichoice Nigeria, operators of DSTV, John Ugbe and test him for COVID-19.

This call was made by the ad hoc committee investigating non-implementation of the pay-as-you-go tariff plan by satellite broadcasters and DSTV subscription price increase.

The House Committee also asked the NCDC to, without further delay, commence contact-tracing of passengers in the plane with Ugbe, his staff and those he may have had contact with at the airport.

The Committee reached the resolution following a second letter written by Ugbe to the Committee that he would be unable to appear before it having come down with an illness after arriving Abuja on Tuesday for the meeting.

The letter was signed by Gozie Onumonon, Head of Regulatory Affairs, for the CEO.

It reads in part, “Because of the abundance of caution needed to be taken in line with the current pandemic, we believe it is necessary that the meeting be deferred until he has regained his health and is cleared by his medical doctor. ”

Recall that the Nigerian Government had ordered the management of MultiChoice, to suspend the implementation of its new hiked tariffs on different bouquets on its DSTV.

The Acting Director-General of the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC, Armstrong Idachaba, gave the order on Tuesday.

Also, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there is government’s plan to break the Sporting rights monopoly of DSTV.

Idachaba and Lai Mohammed spoke at the National Assembly, while briefing members of an ad hoc committee looking into the hike in tariffs. (Agency report)