BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The Nigeria Union of Journalists and the International Press Centre have warned the National Assembly against revisiting the suspended Nigeria Press Council Bill and the National Broadcasting Commission Amendment Bill.
Lawmakers had said that the bills were intended to curb fake news, while critics expressed concerns that the bills, when passed into law, would embolden the government to slam stiff penalties on media outlets and journalists.
Recall that the NUJ, Nigerian Guild of Editors and other key stakeholders had criticised the proposed bill on the condition that it would afford the authorities the opportunity to gag the press.
In an exclusive interview with The Point, the Chairman of Osun NUJ, Wasiu Ajadosu, urged the sponsors of the bills and the National Assembly against passing it into law.
Ajadosu said, “It is an attempt to kill the media. The bill is alien to our Constitution. To us in NUJ, it’s unacceptable. It is like taking us back to the dark days of the military junta. It is taking us back to the draconian law. Fortunately, the Speaker of the House of Representatives said the Lower Chamber would not be a party to anything that would prevent Nigerians from their fundamental right to freedom of expression.
“There was a president of United States, Thomas Jefferson, who said he preferred a free press to a free legislature. That tells you the importance of the media. Attempts to subjugate the media from performing its responsibilities can never be accepted. We are going to fight it to a total conclusion.”
“We believe the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCFTA) offers significant opportunities for the Nigerian private sector to expand into new markets”
“It is good that the sponsor of the bill has hearkened to the voice of the Nigerian masses. The civil society groups, the human rights groups, pressure groups and the media are opposed to it. Nobody should contemplate such a bill in the future. Any attempt to subjugate the media is an attempt to damage democracy itself. The National Assembly should not contemplate such a bill again or come under any guise,” he noted.
Lanre Arogundade, former Chairman of Lagos NUJ and the Director of International Press Centre, also condemned the bill. He asked the Nigerian government to take a cue from Ghana that allowed press freedom and the media to put government on their toes.
He said, “In Ghanaian Constitution, you have article 12, that is titled, ‘Freedom and responsibility of the press.’ The Constitution laid out the principles that ‘the press shall be free, and at the same time, the press shall be responsible.’ In the area of freedom, it says no law or no action shall be taken to affect press freedom in Ghana. And in the area of responsibility, it says that the press shall be subjected to regulation and it now provides the establishment of the National Mass Media Commission and the members are drawn from the media, from key associations and other groups.
“That Commission is funded by government but independent of the government. It is that Commission that takes complaints from members of the public or from anybody on press matters and it takes decision.”
“Not only that, the Constitution of Ghana in that same Article 12 says that any form of government media shall not be appointed by government. So, government in Ghana has no involvement in the appointment of managers or editors of government media; appointment is approved by the National Mass Media Commission,” he noted
