Founded in 1961, the Voice of Nigeria began 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 service provides an external channel through which authoritative information about the African situation can be disseminated. Initially, its transmission used a 10 kW HF transmitter, limiting it to West Africa, broadcasting 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 an antenna 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 global audiences. The transmitting station is located on 40 hectares at Ipakodo,
Ikorodu in Lagos State. While the administrative headquarters is in
Abuja, the Federal Capital, News and Programmes emanate from both the
Lagos and
Abuja studios. In 2012, VON commissioned another state of the art multi-billion naira transmitting station at
Lugbe, Abuja. Voice of Nigeria now operates on digital platforms with www.von.gov.ng as its official website. Broadcast operations are offered in eight languages, namely English, French, Kiswahili, Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, Arabic and Fulfude with an app presence on app stores and Radio Garden/Simple Radio. ==Powers and functions==