The International Federation of African Audiovisual Professionals (IFAAP) congratulates the newly appointed Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Charles Ebuebu, on his appointment.

"We have no doubt you will parlay your vast legal and content management background into an effective regulation of Africa's largest broadcast market," IFAAP Secretary General Madu C. Chikwendu said today in Lagos.

Indeed, as the new NBC helmsman engages in his first official outing at the ongoing AFRICAST, IFAAP calls on the NBC and other West African regulators to urgently and immediately take the necessary steps to checkmate the flagrant illegal and unauthorized broadcast of content, particularly African movies.

"We further call on intergovernmental, non-governmental, national, and subnational entities to initiate necessary action to curb this tendency that is sowing poverty and misery among African cinema professionals," said Chikwendu.

The meeting of West African Broadcast Regulators on the sidelines of AFRICAST is a wonderful opportunity to adopt relevant protocols to checkmate this tendency.

"The worst part is that these African film industries developed on their own without any government intervention. These films are the sweat and blood of the filmmakers. The actions of these broadcast stations are not only cruel but also criminal," IFAAP Secretary-General said in Lagos.

International best practices and national statutes make it mandatory for broadcast stations to provide evidence in the form of licensing agreements from content owners prior to broadcast. The time to enforce this protocol is now.

IFAAP has its headquarters in Accra, Ghana, with regional offices in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Benin, and Cameroon. It is the voice of African professionals in the film industry with a dual corporate and membership structure. IFAAP has an irrevocable commitment to the development of the audiovisual industry and the broader creative industries.

It has a triple mandate to protect the interests of film professionals, contribute to the socio-economic development of Africa, and engage in relevant partnerships for the attainment of its objectives.