Pinnacle poised to drop lawsuit against Nigerian Government

Nigeria’s plans for a smooth switch to digital broadcasting have been strengthened after Pinnacle Communications reportedly abandoned its N1.2 trillion law suit against the Government.

Last month the Government launched a digital TV switchover pilot scheme in Jos, Plateau State, heralding the push towards a nationwide digital broadcasting infrastructure.

Pinnacle, which won a digital distribution license in Nigeria, had alleged in 2015 that the Government regulator NBC had breached its contract by issuing two other companies licences to distribute digital TV signals. Pinnacle said it had been told that Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) would be the only other digital terrestrial signal carrier.

However, the company has now mobilised its foreign partners Jampro Antennas and Gates Air in preparation for the digital rollout. Dipo Onifade, executive director of Pinnacle, told journalists that the lawsuit would be withdrawn once all the “grey areas” are cleared, reports This Day.

“We have held meeting with the Government lately, we and our foreign partners also met with the minister of information and culture, and we are also talking with the NBC. Our global partners are familiar with the terrain and we have infrastructures in all the states in Nigeria,” Sir Lucky Omoluwa, chairman, Pinnacle Communications, was quoted as saying.

Onifade said Pinnacle would play its part in ensuring that the digitisation process would be complete by the June 2017 deadline.