According to reports, the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, has asked the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to take Big Brother Naija (BBN) off the air. He cited fears of a possible spread of COVID-19 among housemates as his reason
On Wednesday, Armstrong Idachaba, acting director-general of the NBC, told senior management members that he had been directed by Lai Mohammed 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, 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.
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