Buhari has nothing to do with media bills – Presidency

The Presidency says President Muhammadu Buhari has nothing to do with the ongoing attempt by the House of Representatives to amend the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act.

The Newspapers Proprietor Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigeria Guild of Editor and other media stakeholders had spoken against the proposed amendments seen as an attempt to muzzle the press.

Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council meeting yesterday, said only the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, could speak on the matter.

When asked to comment on the issue, Adesina said: “That’s 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.”

On the recent development over the action taken on the popular social media platform and the verdict of the sub-regional court, Adesina said the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, was studying the ruling issued by the ECOWAS Court to the effect that Twitter users cannot be arrested or prosecuted following the suspension of the activities of the microblogging site in the country.

Adesina, who said the AGF would advise the federal government on the next step to take, the committee made up of ministers to engage with Twitter has begun to meet.