By Ben ADAJI

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku on Media and Publicity, Mr. Sylvanus Giwa has said that digitalization of the state owned television; “T V Taraba” will be completed before June 2017 to beat the deadline for the switchover from Analogue to digital. Giwa who disclosed this during an interactive session with Journalists in Jalingo on said the state government has signed the contract for the full digitization of the state television with Pinnacle Communication Limited in December 2015 to ensure that the deadline of June 2017 was met. He added that because of the government’s commitment to the project, Governor Ishaku immediately mobilized the contractor to site, adding that the project has attained 90 per cent completion. The media aid praised Pinnacle Communications Limited for delivering a quality job within a shortest period. Giwa explained a digitized television and radio for the state would go a long way in not only improving quality programming but also create employment for the teeming youths that went through many forms of computer
training. He said that the state government would employ at least 100 new staff after the exercise to man the new facility, while a comprehensive staff quarters would be constructed at the permanent site to ease staff accommodation problem. A staff bus is also to be provided to address staff transportation issues. While giving update on the projects, the Executive Director, Pinnacle Communications, Mr. Dipo Onifade who conducted Journalists round the project at the Taraba Television permanent site in Mallum said Pinnacle Communications, a leading communication firm in Nigeria, was committed to providing quality services to the state television. He disclosed that already the virtual/ digital studios have been completed to meet international standards while cameras have already been mounted. Equally, all other accompanying equipment have been fully supplied and installed and now ready for the full take- off of the station. According to the Executive Director, Pinnacle Communications was handling similar digitalization of broadcast media houses in several states across country. nationalTRAIL reports that residents of Jalingo and environs were already enjoying quality signals from  Taraba
Television ahead of the full take-off,  while the office complex was wearing a new look. The work on the digitalization of Taraba Television, according to a cross section of residents of Jalingo, the state capital, was one of the major achievements of Governor Ishaku’s administration. Mr. Joel Shawulu, a media expert, commended the Governor for embarking on the digitalization exercise on time with a view of meeting the June, 2017 National Broadcasting Communication’s deadline for full switchover from analogue to digital of all broadcast media organizations in Nigeria. He said he had no doubt that Pinnacle Communications would deliver a good job to the state government considering her track record in the communication industry in Nigeria. Similarly, Alhaji Suleiman Yusuf, a political analyst described the timely completion of the digitization exercise of the state television by the company as a display of competence and commitment to hard work. Pinnacle Communications Ltd was recently endorsed as the sole signal distributors by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) after withdrawing its N1.2 trillion suit against the federal government for alleged breach of contractual agreement.
The Director General, NBC, Mr. Modibbo Kawu after a meeting with the Directors of Pinnacle Communications led by the chairman, Chief Lucky Omoluwa in Abuja last week announced that Pinnacle Communications Limited remains the sole signal distributors for the June 2017 switch-over project of Nigeria from analogue to digital viewing. According to the NBC boss, “I am happy to report that we have reached substantial agreement in the interest of Nigeria’s DSO Pinnacle Communications Limited is fully back into the process.” “Similarly, we have also taken a decision that Pinnacle Communications would serve as the signal distributors for the next phase for which we have tentatively chosen the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja” he said. Meanwhile, Chief Lucky Omoluwa, chairman, Pinnacle Communications told journalists in Abuja last week that the company’s foreign partners, Jampro Antennas and Gates Air, manufactures of broadcast equipment were ready to commence operation. “We have held meeting with the NBC and we met the minister of Information with our foreign partners who are familiar with the terrain and we equally have infrastructures in the 36 states of the federation and will commence operations soon” Omoluwa said.