Founder, CEO And Owner Of DAAR Communication Plc, AIT, Raypower FM, Faaji FM

Founder, CEO And Owner

Dr. Raymond Dokpesi never forgot his initial love, showbiz and entertainment, even as High Chief. This dates back to his secondary school days as a member of Ozolua Playhouse’s dancedrama ensemble.

He decided to launch a radio station during the Ibarahim Babaginda regime, when Nigeria’s broadcasting was deregulated. RayPower was the first private FM station in Nigeria.

Africa Independent Television was started two years later. According to Oyinlola (2005), he set the pace for Galaxy TV, Silverbird TV, MBI television, Rhythm FM, and others.

Africa Independent Television (AIT), Raypower 100.5 FM Abuja, and Raypower 100.5 FM were all firsts for the company. The stock of the corporation can be purchased through the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

DAAR Communication Pls

DAAR Communications plc is a privately owned and operated broadcasting corporation in Nigeria that maintains its independence. Raymond Dokpesi was the one who initiated the process on August 31st, 1998. On April 23, 2007, it was changed to a kind of business known as a limited liability corporation.

AIT (Africa Independent Television)

Africa Independent Television, or AIT, is a TV station in Nigeria that is owned by a private company. It is the largest privately run terrestrial TV network in Nigeria, with stations in twenty-four of the country’s thirty-six states. It is free to air in Nigeria.

AIT is also shown on satellite TV from its headquarters in Abuja, where it is run. AIT is a branch of DAAR Communications plc. It is available all over Africa and in North America through Dish Network.

It was a free-to-air channel on Sky channel 454 in the United Kingdom and Ireland (originally a subscription channel until 1 August 2016). AIT Movistar, a second channel that used to be on Sky channel 330, stopped broadcasting on July 28, 2009. On October 15, 2019, AIT International stopped broadcasting in the UK and Ireland.((wikipedia))

Raypower FM

Raypower is a group of private radio stations in Nigeria that broadcast from Abuja and Lagos on the 100.5 FM frequency and in other cities across the country.

When broadcasting was no longer regulated on August 24, 1992, Raymond Dokpesi’s company, DAAR Communications Plc, asked for and got permission to run an independent radio station.

The station started test transmissions on December 15, 1993. On September 1, 1994, Raypower 100.5 fm began commercial broadcasting in Lagos. It was the first 24-hour broadcast service station in Nigeria and the first private, independent broadcasting station in the country. On January 1, 2005, the Abuja station went live.

In June 2019, the National Broadcasting Commission shut down Raypower and its sister channel, Africa Independent Television. Dokpesi, a member of the opposition, said that his stations were being targeted and that licensing fees were too high.

The commission said that it had to shut them down for good because they broke broadcast rules and didn’t meet other obligations to the regulator. At the end of the month, it took back the notice of suspension. ((wikipedia))

Faaji FM

It is a radio station in Nigeria. It is owned by Daar Communications, a company that Raymond Dokpesi started to help people talk to each other. On December 1, 2012, Faaji FM started full transmission. Kenny Ogungbe, who is the Managing Director of Radio Services at Daar Communications, started the transmission. ((wikipedia))

Conroversies

In July of 2018, the DAAR communication Plc was given a maximum of two weeks in jail and a fine of 500,000 euros (about $575,000). The National Broadcasting Commission levied the fine as a result of an alleged violation of the requirements of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code. This violation led to the NBC taking action.

The Director-General of the NBC, Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu, stated that the fine was imposed “following the persistent and flagrant infringement of the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code through the use of provocative, inflammatory, and divisive comments by anchors on the Raypower programme, Political platform.” In other words, the Director-General of the NBC claimed that the fine was imposed because of the “use of provocative, inflammatory, and dives.

Career

It was through his company, DAAR Communications, that he made his debut in the Nigerian mass media market. In 2015, he served as the chairman of the organizing committee for the national conference of the People’s Democratic Party.

As of the month of March in the year 2020, he is still being tried on charges of corruption. Dokpesi was identified as a COVID-19 survivor in May of 2020. In the early 1990s, the National Broadcasting Commission directive dominated Nigerian media, according to Muyiwa Oyinlola (2004). Government-owned broadcasting companies provided information.

Then-President Ibrahim Babangida approved private broadcasting in Nigeria. Africa Independent Television, Nigeria’s first private TV network, followed (AIT). Dokpesi founded Africa’s first satellite TV channel, AIT.

Dokpesi is Nigeria’s media expert. Some call him Nigeria’s Ted Turner. Dokpesi also founded Nigeria’s first privately owned radio station. Raymond believes AIT set the pattern for media compensation structure, which Nigerian Television Authority copied, according to Kolapo (2006).

His Education

Dokpesi attended Loyola College Ibadan. After that, he attended Immaculate Conception College (ICC) in Benin City, where he founded a dance/drama troupe. He studied marine engineering at the University of Benin Edo State and the University of Gdansk, Poland. Alhaji Bamanga Tukur supported his education through college.

Founder, CEO And Owner of DAAR Communication Plc, AIT, Raypower FM, Faaji FM