The Presidency has washed its hands off the current efforts at the National Assembly to amend the laws establishing the Nigerian Press Council (NPC)and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
These are the agencies of government that regulate the print media and broadcast media, respectively in the country.
The planned amendments to these laws have drawn the ire of Nigerians of all walks of life, including lawyers, and media practitioners, who say it is the government’s plan to gag the press.
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Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, told journalists, on Wednesday, in Abuja that the move to amend these laws was a government thing, explaining that only the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, could speak to that.
He spoke at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) which was presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa.
“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.”
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The plan to review the laws is gathering momentum against the background of the government’s recent ban on the microblogging platform, Twitter, which it accused of promoting instability and terrorism in the country.
Meanwhile, President Buhari has appointed Mohammed as the leader of a government team to hold talks with Twitter on the face-off between it and the government.