By: Solomon Odeniyi and Deborah Tolu-Kolawole
The President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Christopher Isiguzo, on Monday reiterated the position of stakeholders in the media towards the National Press Council (Amendment) Bill currently before the National Assembly.
He said a stakeholders’ meeting was important to settle the grey areas.
He added that any regulation that tended towards the control of the media by the government would be resisted.
Isiguzo spoke while featuring on Sunrise Daily, a programme on Channels Television, monitored by one of our correspondents.
He said, “From the NUJ’s perspective, we did not really object to that public hearing; but from the Nigeria Press Organisation’s perspectives, made up of the Newspapers Proprietors of Nigeria, the Nigeria Guild of Editors and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, we are opposed to the planned amendment. We told the National Assembly that the matter was of contention in court and it would be sub-judice to discuss.
“I do not think anybody is allergic here if you look at the issue in court, we said ‘allow the practitioners and stakeholders to regulate themselves.’
“In Ghana, the person heading the press council is a journalist. So, when you allow us to regulate ourselves, it is a lot easier. If you look at the proposed amendment bill, you will see that they want to criminalise a journalist.
