By Emma Ogbuehi
Apparently overwhelmed by criticisms from Nigerians, sponsor of the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Acts amendment Bills, Hon. Olusegun Odebunmi, has indicated his intention to step down the controversial bills, saying he is doing so for further consultation.
The intended bills had attracted outcry by Nigerians and media practitioners who interpreted them as surreptitious moves to gag the press and frustrate free speech.
Odebunmi who made the disclosure while appearing on a Channels Television programme, Sunrise Daily, on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, declared “Personally, I’m suspending the process for more consultation”.
The move, he added, was however not in deference to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), which he said, cannot gag the activities of the National Assembly.
He said; “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.”
Odebunmi stated that the intention of the bill was not to gag the press, adding however that all is not well with the media 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”, he said.
