<Tr> <Th> Nation </Th> <Td> Nigeria </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Established </Th> <Td> 1977 (1959 under the name Western Nigerian Government Broadcasting Corporation (WNTV)) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Nigerian Television Authority--also known as NTA is a Nigerian government - owned and partly commercial broadcaster that was inaugurated in 1977 . At inauguration it had a monopoly on television broadcasting in the country . The NTA runs the biggest television network in Nigeria with stations in several parts of Nigeria . Formerly known as Nigerian Television (NTV), the network began with a takeover of regional television stations in 1976 by the then Nigerian military authorities, and is widely viewed as the authentic voice of the Nigerian government . NTA's monopoly was broken in the 1990s . </P> <P> The first chairman of NTV was Olapade Obisesan, a lawyer trained in the United Kingdom and son of Akinpelu Obisesan, an Ibadan socialite and first President of Cooperative Bank, Nigeria . The first official director general was Vincent Maduka, a former engineer . Prior to his appointment, Maduka was General Manager of Western Nigeria Television, Ibadan, which was Africa's first television station . The NTA has been criticized by performing artists such as Becky Umeh for pressuring artists to align their expression with government propaganda goals . The Guardian in its editorial of Sunday October 18, 2009 stated "The federal government - owned television network, the Nigeria Television Authority, (NTA) is arguably the largest of its type in Africa, but it is yet to have the operational freedom required to maximize its potentials". However, the NTA's monopoly on Nigerian airspace was broken in the mid-1990s with the establishment of privately owned television stations and networks, notably Africa Independent Television . </P>

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