* Lawmaker says he initiated suspension for consultation with stakeholders
* Claims his intention not to gag the press
Apparently bowing to media reportage over draconian laws against free press, Hon Olusegun Odebunmi, who sponsored the controversial bills for the amendments of laws establishing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Nigeria Press Council (NPC), has disclosed that the legislative process on the bills has been suspended for further consultations.
Odebunmi (APC, Ogo Oluwa/Surulere Federal Constituency, Oyo State), spoke on Tuesday, following widespread protests by both the print and electronic media against the media regulation bills, which are being debated at the House of Representatives.
The federal lawmaker, who is also the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, spoke on Tuesday during the Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme that was monitored by our Correspondent in Abuja.
It is instructive to note that all major newspapers and online platforms, on Monday, published a Cover Page Public Notice titled “Information Blackout”.
In the public notice that was sponsored by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the stakeholders in the media industry said the amendment bills on NPC and NPC would lead to Information Blackout.
The NUJ, NGE and NPAN then said, “This is what the National Assembly wants to achieve with the NPC and NBC (Media) Act Amendment Bills. It is not just against the media…its about the society’s right to know, your right to be heard.”
Widespread criticisms have greeted the move by the House of Representatives to amend the laws establishing the NPC and the NBC.
But Odebunmi has disclosed that his intention on the bills was not to gag the press but make some amendments aimed at fixing lapses in the practice of journalism.
He said, “Personally, I’m suspending the process for more consultation.”
Odebunmi added that he initiated suspension of the bills to allow for consultation with stakeholders in the industry.
The federal lawmaker from Oyo State said, “What I’m saying is that the National Union of Journalists (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.
“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.”
