The Nigeria Labour Congress has asked the National Broadcasting Commission to reduce the cost of operating licenses for broadcast organizations in the country.

NLC President AYUBA WABBA said this in a statement, days after the NBC announced the withdrawal of the broadcast licenses of 53 radio and television stations in the country.

AYUBA WABBA in his statement said the decision did not take into account the economic challenges that have hit the operations of the stations, including the high cost of diesel, the lack of electricity, among others.

The NLC President noted that media houses should be commended for being resilient in the face of the current economic situation, as they have salaries to pay, maintenance of services, and sundry basic operating costs to keep running and serve the listening and viewing public.

WABBA described the role of the media as a social service, saying that the withdrawal of the licenses was drastic, and devastating not only for the media houses but for their staff and millions of Nigerian who follow programs from the stations.