Nigerian President Bola Tinubu says he will address tariffs on newspaper and broadcasting materials to empower the media industry to discharge its constitutional role effectively.
Speaking when he hosted the leadership of the Nigerian media in Abuja, Tinubu commended the media owners, editors and journalists for their commitment to informing, educating and keeping citizens abreast of developments, as well as providing employment and livelihoods for thousands of Nigerians.
He noted that responsible leadership must take appropriate decisions at the right time and that anything to the contrary amounted to failure.
He acknowledged the hard but critical decisions his administration had to take to save the nation from bankruptcy.
“Leadership must, as a matter of responsibility, make decisions at the best time. Yes, I accepted my predecessor’s assets and liabilities because I applied for the job and was given the job. So I have to do it. But if anybody tells you it’s easy, it’s a lie. I thank you for your criticism at the beginning of the administration. You challenged me. Thank you for inspiring and challenging me at a critical moment in my life.
“But having asked for the job and got it, I can’t look back other than to make corrections as I move along. We had to save the nation and bring it back from the brink. Can you imagine a nation that owes airlines for ticket reimbursements and faces galloping exchange rates and inflation?
“Today, I can stand proudly before you and say that we are back from the brink,” he stated.
On the requests for his intervention on tariffs affecting the media industry, President Tinubu said: “We discussed issues of tariffs this afternoon. What I cannot report back here is whether I took action in the areas that affect you. But if I missed that, I will go back to rectifying whatever was necessary.”
He commended the media for its constructive remarks and criticisms, adding that as an ardent reader of Nigerian newspapers, he accepted all in good faith since “all of us want the best for this nation”.
President Tinubu called on the media to also demand accountability, development and service from other tiers of government, as federal government reform policies have made more funds available to the federating units.
In his remarks at the event, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, expressed confidence in the President’s strength of character, resilience, and visionary leadership, assuring him that the Nigerian media have high expectations for his administration’s ability to steer the nation toward lasting progress.
The Minister charged media practitioners to continue to discharge their constitutional role with responsibility while holding the government at all levels accountable to the people.
Mr Frank Aigbogun, publisher of BusinessDay newspapers, who spoke on behalf of the Nigeria Press Organisation, of which he is the president, commended President Tinubu for maintaining his longstanding cordial relationship with the media and sought President Tinubu’s intervention on Import tariffs on newsprint and broadcast equipment.
Mr Aigbogun also called on the Federal Government to intervene to protect the jobs of journalists in Nigeria and the industry as a whole from big tech companies that use editorial content sourced from Nigerian media without compensation.
Some of the media organisations that attended the meeting included the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
GIK/APA