| Type | Radio network |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Availability | International |
| Owner | Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria |
| Key people | Alhaji Abubakar B. Jijiwa (Director General) |
| Launch date | 1961 |
| Official website | http://www.voiceofnigeria.org/ |
The Voice of Nigeria (VON) is the official international broadcasting station of Nigeria.
Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began life as the External Service of the then Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation (now Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria). Then Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa commissioned the service.
The nation's growing commitment informed the need to have an external channel through which authoritative information about the African situation could be disseminated to the entire world. Even then, its transmission, using a 10 kW HF transmitter, was limited to West Africa for two hours daily in English and French. Broadcast hours increased to six in 1963 with the commissioning of five prototype RCA 100 kW transmitters.
In 1989, five Brown Boveri transmitters with antennae system were acquired. On January 5, 1990, VON became autonomous, and in 1996, three state-of-the-art 250 kW Thomcast AG transmitters were commissioned. This boosted VON's transmission to the entire world. The transmitting station is located on 40 hectares at Ipokodo, Ikorodu in Lagos State. While the Administrative Head quarters is in Abuja, the Federal Capital, News and Programmes emanate from both the Lagos and Abuja studios.