A day on NTA begins with the colour bars and National Anthem. NTA had many programs, dramas, and sitcoms, as well as an excellent newscaster, which kept Nigeria’s stuck to their televisions.
Through NTA, the men mentioned below found their way into our living rooms and left a lasting impression on us.
They captivated their television audience across the nation with their velvety voices as they read the news. While their diction was flawless, their pronunciation was perfect. Their excellent mastery of the art of broadcasting and their confidence in news delivery.
- Cyril Stober is a Nigerian journalist and newscaster. He was born in Niger State. He attended Fatima Secondary Secondary now known as Father O’Connell Science College, Minna.
Stober spent over three decades of professional career as a newscaster and journalist. His major role was anchoring the news at 9 pm on NTA network and NTA prime time news. His signature dressing was a native attire, cap and his glasses. In 2015, there was a rumor that he had retired, he surprised viewers as he was seen anchoring the news again.
On 21 April 2019, Stober retired from Nigerian Broadcasting Authority. Cyril Stober still anchors regular NTA network programming after his retirement as he is more of a Nigerian icon.
Stober was married to Efun Merriman-Johnson, an ex-broadcaster who also worked in the Nigerian Television Authority until their divorce.
On 13 January 2019, Stober married Elizabeth Banu in her hometown Garkida, Adamawa state, Nigeria. He has three children (two daughters and a son) from his marriage to Efun Merriman-Johnson. His new wife is also a newscaster with the NTA, another broadcaster with Nigeria Television Authority, Abuja.
- John Momoh (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and the Chairman and CEO of Channels TV, an independent and multiple award-winning 24-hour news and media television channel based in Lagos.
He is widely recognized in Nigeria as a transformative industry pioneer with the 37-year-long career in news television broadcasting.
He delivered the maiden edition of Distinguished Lecture Series of the University of Lagos Mass Communication Alumni Association entitled “The Mass Media: Setting the Nigerian Agenda.” He was appointed the acting chairman of UNILAG Governing Council by the administration of President MuhammaduBuhari on 21 August 2020.
John Momoh is of Etsakọ extraction. Momoh was brought up in Lagos State, southwestern Nigeria and his father was a cook. Over the past decades, he has built a commercial satellite television station with a reputable integrity in a country where the media sector is tainted by corruption.
John Momoh graduated from Baptist Academy and the University of Lagos with a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication and a master’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy.
In June 2013, he received the Lagos Business School’s Distinguished Alumni Award. John Momoh has a professional Diploma from the UK’s Thomson Foundation, an alumnus of University of Lagos, Lagos Business School, and Harvard Business School, and is Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Institute of Journalism.
Prior to starting Channels Television, which he founded in 1995, John worked variously as news anchor, senior reporter and senior producer for Nigeria’s National Radio and Television Stations, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Television Authority.
- Yinka Craig, Born in 1948, Craig died on September 23rd 2008, rose to national prominence at the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN, as a sports commentator and analyst in 1980. He later switched over to the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, and became famous for his presentation of Newsline, Presidential Media Chat and AM Express.
- Ayinde Soaga is a household name among Nigerians born in 1980s. Ayinde Soaga worked at NTA for 40 years before retiring in March 2021. He had a likable personality and was always competent in his work.
- Frank Olize is an iconic newscaster who made a name for himself on the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, during the 1980s and 1990s. He was well-known as the host of Newsline, which aired on NTA every Sunday from 9:00 pm to 10 o’clock.
Olize’s peculiar style of delivery kept viewers fascinated and glued to their TV sets.
Through that program, Frank Olize took television presentations to a new level. Many people who know him will never forget his famous phrase, “It’s nine o’clock. Do you know where your children are?”