House of Representatives member, Olusegun Odebunmi, who is the sponsor of controversial Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Amendment Bill, has disclosed that they have been suspended.
Odebunmi, who is the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Information National Orientation Ethics and Values, made this known on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, explaining that the suspension is to allow for proper consultations over the bill.
Recall that the bills seeking to amend NPC and NBC Acts has been described as “draconian and an attempt to stifle free speech in the country.”
While the Federal Government already regulates broadcast media organisations through the NBC, it now seeks to extend regulations to online platforms.
Read Also: ‘Information Blackout’: Nigerian Newspapers Campaign Against Controversial Media Regulation Bills
Reacting, several newspapers in Nigeria on Monday jointly campaigned against controversial media regulation bills being considered at the National Assembly by publishing an advertorial that represents a gagged media.
The front banners of major newspapers in Nigeria on Monday bore a picture of an individual with a sealed mouth.
“Information Blackout,” read the caption that ran with the picture. “It’s not just against the media….it’s about society’s right to know, your right to be heard.”
The message is a joint release from Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
It is expected to be the chyron on television stations, the jingles on radio stations and the lead graphics on online media.
However, Odebunmi on Tuesday insisted that the National Union of Journalists cannot gag the activities of the national assembly.
He stated;
Personally, I’m suspending the process for more consultation. What I’m saying is that the NUJ cannot gag the activities of the national assembly by saying ‘No you must drop it’, because obviously that is not the way.
We have suspended the process for more consultation to happen on it. They demanded for a lot of time and I said ‘no problem, we have given you; even if you spend three, four to five weeks’. So far, more consultations from critical stakeholders, and many people have been submitting their memoranda to the national assembly even within the industry.
Responding to allegation of the bill being an attempt to gag the press, Odebunmi said;
My intention is not to gag the press, and unless all the practitioners can say all is well with the industry, to the best of my knowledge I know all is not well. And I know the national assembly has the power to look into the existing act.
All is not well with the NPC agency. It is an agency of government, and you’re expecting something to be given back to the society, but until now nothing has been coming from the agency.
We have been on this process for a while and right now, we have suspended it for more consultation to happen on it.
The lawmaker had earlier faulted claims that the bill was targeted at gagging the media.
He rather maintained that it is aimed at removing identified hindrances to optimum performance.
