The presidency has washed its hands off the current attempt by the National Assembly to amend the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act, a move, media stakeholders and other Nigerians have condemned as an attempt to gag the press.
In a swift response, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to order, accusing the minister of being the brain behind the antagonistic amendment bills.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, who spoke yesterday with journalists after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), said although it is an initiative of the government, only the Minister of Information and Culture, Mohammed, can address it.
His words: “That is not strictly a presidency thing because the president has nothing to do with that. It’s a government thing and it’s the minister that can talk about it. So, thank you.”
He also said there was nothing to report on the FEC meeting as the issues discussed were not meant for public consumption at this stage.
The spokesman, however, revealed that the president has approved that the Second Peer Review Country Self-assessment Report should be done.
He said: “The only thing of interest I would like to talk about is the second Peer Review Country’s Self-assessment Report. Nigeria is ready for the second Peer Review Country Self -assessment Report to be done by AUDA-NEPAD. I think the last self-assessment report was done 10 years ago in Nigeria. Now, Nigeria is ready for the second review self-assessment report. It’s been discussed at the council and the president has granted the approval that that peer review report can be conducted on Nigeria.
“Actually, if you have an insight into the report that was presented, which the woman in charge of NEPAD, Mrs. Akobundu, can give you, Nigeria has made progress in several areas and on several fronts.
While 10 years ago, petroleum contributed more than 70%, even up to 90%, to GDP, you will find that today, petroleum contributes just about 45% and non-oil products contribute about 55% to the Nigerian economy.
“So, if Nigeria had been talking of diversification for 40, 50, 60 years, the economy can now be said to be diversified because our GDP, non-oil revenue, contributes about 55% to 45% of oil. So, it’s one of the highlights of the Peer Review Country Self-assessment Report that was presented at the Council meeting today. Details of that can be gotten from the AUDA-NEPAD office.”
The Media Adviser also disclosed that the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, is studying the ruling by the ECOWAS Court to the effect that Twitter users cannot be arrested or prosecuted following the suspension of the activities of the microblogging site in the country.
According to him, the AGF would advise the federal government on the next step to take.
Adesina confirmed that the committee made up of ministers to engage Twitter over its suspension has commenced work.
“The Attorney-General of the Federation is going to study that report and then he’ll advise the government on the way forward.
“The committee set up by the president to engage with Twitter is actually holding a meeting about now, or it will hold a meeting this afternoon (Wednesday) towards engaging with Twitter,” he said.
Media Leaders Urged Buhari to Call Information Minister to Order
Meanwhile, the NGE and NUJ have urged the president to call the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed to order.
In a statement yesterday, the General-Secretary of NGE, Mr. Iyobosa Uwugiaren, said the media leaders found it “extremely hard to agree with the Special Adviser (Media) to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, that the presidency has no hand in the proposed media amendment bills before the National Assembly.”
He insisted that if the president has no hand in the bill, he should ask Mohammed, who is his employee to hands off the matter also.
He said: “We insist that the current attempts to criminalise journalism practice in Nigeria will have terrible, huge consequences on our democracy; because an independent press, which the federal government is trying to crush, is one of the indispensable pillars of democracy.
“The media is referred to as Fourth branch of government because it also supports the balance of power in the government. Without a vibrant and independent press, the whole idea of a democracy system of government begins to deteriorate and after a short period the democracy will crumble.”
He argued that the concept of a free press was purposefully and deliberately invented to preserve freedom of the people, adding that when freedom of the press is threatened, it is a threat to growing democracy.
NUJ has also asked the promoters of the bill to suspend the plot especially now that the presidency has denied involvement in the obnoxious bill.
NUJ President, Mr. Chris Isiguzo, spoke while reacting to the denial by the presidency that they had no hand in the plot.
Isiguzo said having denied involvement, the presidency should follow it up by calling the minister of information to order since it is the same government.
He said: “We expect the president to quickly call his minister and all those behind these obnoxious bills to order. They should withdraw the bills and ensure that relevant stakeholders are engaged properly before thinking of any amendment.
“Of course, our position is clear. You cannot embark on an amendment that will directly impact us without getting us involved. It’s the same as shaving a man’s head in his absence.
“Denial is not just enough, let the presidency call its officials involved in this anti-people journey to order.”
He said the media is not afraid of any amendment or regulation but that stakeholders must be allowed to regulate the industry as is the practice in other climes.
“By the time, we agree on the most appropriate template, we’ll now restart the process. But for now, the entire process should be stepped down,” Isiguzo said.
