The Managing Director of Metrodigital Limited, owners of Silver Lake Television, indigenous Nigerian satellite pay television, Dr Ifeanyi Nwafor, has been honoured with ‘salute to courage award.’
Mr Nwafor received the award at the SLTV post launch
reception organised by Camroll Quest Limited and associates of SLTV on Saturday
in Abuja.
The Chief Operating Officer of Camroll Quest Ltd, Nikky
Onyeri, who presented the award to the SLTV boss, said the honour was in
celebration of his doggedness towards ensuring that Nigeria has indigenous pay
television.
According to her, Metrodigital Limited, under Mr Nwafor’s
watch, took bold and patriotic steps in conceiving SLTV for Nigerians to have
alternative to monopolistic satellite pay TV service providers.
He said, “When nobody gave Nigerians a chance, Ifeanyi
Nwafor and Metrodigital remained focused and resilient for us to have our own
satellite pay television, and so today, we are recognising tenacity, we are
recognising resilience and doggedness. This celebration and award came from
many years of being in the battlefield as the opposition party tried everything
possible to put Metrodigital away.
“I believe this is also the only award that is recognised by
the government of Nigeria in the sense that the National Copyright Council has
certified this award. For 13 years they were taken to court in Nigeria and they
still took them to European courts for three years, all as part of plots to
stop this patriotic vision, but Metrodigital won in the end. The fact that we
are in the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu has also given us another hope because this is happening under his government.”
In his remark, Mr Nwafor expressed appreciation for the
honour accorded him and the SLTV team, adding that the team was poised to do
more towards ensuring that the pay television network gives value to Nigerians.
He lamented that the growth of pay TV in Nigeria over the
years had been hampered by policies and legal frameworks that encouraged
monopoly.
“I am happy and humbled by this honour and we promise not to
disappoint Nigerians as we urge them to patronise their own. We are considerate
with our prices because we are Nigerians and we are not going to take Nigerians
for granted,” he said.
He explained that SLTV has over 50 HD channels with 10
sports channels that show live football matches from major football leagues in
Europe, with a monthly subscription ranging from N2, 500 and N5,000.
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the occasion, Abubakar
Jijiwa, said SLTV was a veritable alternative that has emerged to respond to
yearning of Nigerians by giving them value for their money.
According to a former Chairman of the Broadcasting
Organisation of Nigeria, Mr Jijiwa, said the new satellite pay television will
also create jobs for Nigerian youths from its entire value chain.
“SLTV has come to stay, but we must support it as our own,
because our own will drive direct foreign investment and create jobs. Let us
spread the message that there is now a Nigerian company that is providing pay
TV services at a cheaper price than others,” he said.
Top government functionaries, heads of both private and
public organisations, seasoned entrepreneurs and consumers of pay TV services
were among stakeholders present at the event.
Also there were goodwill messages from the Nigerian police
and other stakeholders.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George
Akume, had in March unveiled the indigenous Nigerian satellite television,
SLTV, at the Shehu Yar’Adua Centre in Abuja.
He said its establishment aligned with the hopes of
Nigerians to “reap from the bountiful harvest awaiting investors in the
Nigerian economy.”
Mr Akume, represented by his Senior Special Assistant
(Technical), Prof. Babatunde Bernard, said the operators of SLTV, Metrodigital
Limited, took a patriotic step in setting up the satellite television. NAN