Gbajabiamila queries anti-media bills’ sponsor, Reps to remove contentious clauses
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has distanced himself from bills seeking to gag Nigerian press, stating that such bills would not survive under his leadership of the legislative chamber.Femi Gbajabiamila
The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, which make up the Nigerian Press Organisation, had sponsored a record front-page protest against the ongoing amendments to the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act.
Major newspapers in the country, including The PUNCH, had published the advertorial prominently on their front page on Monday.
According to Gbajabiamila, the contentious clauses in the bills will be amended or removed.
At an award ceremony organised by the House of Representatives’ Press Corps in Abuja on Monday, Gbajabiamila disclosed that he had questioned the sponsor of the bill and demanded a copy which he would read as soon as possible.
The Speaker said, “I will not be part of any bill that will seek to gag the press. No bill will come to the floor of the House that seeks to gag the press because the press is supposed to be the voice of the people.
“However, I hold very strongly the view that there is press freedom and there is freedom of expression. What we call freedom of expression – and I think it is important for us as Nigerians to listen to one another and understand each other so that we can make progress as a nation – there is nowhere in the world where freedom of expression is absolute. Freedom of expression is limited to the extent that it does not affect another person’s freedom.”
Gbajabiamila added, “So, while I will never allow gagging of the press, I worry where at every turn the National Assembly tries to promulgate the law with the best of intentions. Some just jump on the bandwagon without even knowing the details; without even knowing the issues.
“I am using this as a sample: this Press Council bill. I called the proponent of the bill, who you all know very well. ‘What is going on? What is in this bill?’ He tried to break it down to me. I have not read it, but I will read it in the next couple of days in detail. I just have a perfunctory general idea of the contents.
“He (Chairman of the House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, Olusegun Odebunmi, who sponsored the bill) told that me he had a meeting with all the stakeholders.
“Whatever provision that is in that bill that is inimical to the development of the press, we will remove it or tweak it in such a way that everybody will be happy. But from my understanding, and I don’t know how far this is true, the issue is not about not about any provision; the issue is that we do not even want any bill to regulate. We don’t want to be regulated.”
The Speaker stressed the need for the government to regulate institutions and activities in the country, noting that regulation was an essential element of good governance.
He said, “We cannot just let people or any institution run amok. The executive, legislative and judicial arms of government are also regulated.
“To be clear, I will not as Speaker table any bill that seeks to gag the press. It will not happen. There is a difference between regulation and gagging. I don’t know how you the press will like it if the legislature said we do not want to be regulated. You will be the first to jump on us.”
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