Communique issued at the end of the Standing Committee meeting of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, held on Friday, July 20, 2018, at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos State.
The Standing Committee
discussed the state of the nation and the media and took particular note of the
Nigerian Press Council Act 1992 (Repeal and Enactment Bill 2018) which is
currently before the Senate and has passed second reading.
The Nigerian Guild of
Editors vehemently condemns the bill which seeks to criminalise journalists and
journalism practice, takes away the power of the law courts and usurps the
constitutional duties of academic institutions and regulatory agencies such as
the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The Guild observes that those behind this bill have been unrelenting in their quest to cage the media under different guises, as the bill has come up under different administrations since 1961. This bill bears semblance of obnoxious Decree 4 of 1984 and Decree 43 of 1993.
The Guild observes that those behind this bill have been unrelenting in their quest to cage the media under different guises, as the bill has come up under different administrations since 1961. This bill bears semblance of obnoxious Decree 4 of 1984 and Decree 43 of 1993.
The Guild is piqued that the Senate could bring such a bill to the fore in spite of a subsisting court case on the same subject without minding that it is subjudice.
The Guild frowns at
the attempt by the promoters of the bill to arrogate to the council the powers
to decide which training institutions and professional qualifications attained
there from, should be acceptable for journalism practice in Nigeria. This
clearly abrogates the mandates of relevant accrediting bodies.
The Guild wonders why
the sponsors of this bill are fixated on muzzling the press using draconian
laws which are clearly targeted at making the watchdog toothless. Sections 22
and 39 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, are clear on the role of the
media.
The Guild perceives
this bill as provocative, primitive, anti-people and anti-press freedom at a
time when advocacy for free press is gaining stridency across the world.
It is noteworthy that
there is nothing in this bill that shows how the council intends to create an
enabling environment for the media to thrive as it is the case in other sectors
of the economy. This is particularly galling at a time the media industry is in
dire straits.
The sponsors of this
bill are clearly undemocratic and appear to suffer illusion of grandeur.
They seemed to be totally oblivious of the fact that the media houses are
businesses set up with investments apart from being the fourth estate of the
realm.
The Guild condemns the
bill in its entirety and will never nominate any of its members to serve in a
council that seeks to cage the media, destroy the profession and criminalise
journalists.
Indeed, it is the
opinion of the Guild that this bill should be consigned to the dustbin where it
rightly belongs.
Funke
Egbemode Victoria
Ibanga
President General
Secretary
No comments:
Post a Comment