Media Stakeholders Have Right to Reject Minister’s Power, Says Bill Sponsor

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The sponsor of the controversial Nigerian Press Council Bill, Hon. Segun Odebunmi, has said stakeholders in the media industry have the right to reject the minister as the one to approve the code of conducts, since the bill is still undergoing scrutiny by the House of Representatives.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja yesterday, Odebunmi, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Information, Orientation and Ethics, also cleared the speculation that he was prompted by external forces within the government to propose the amendment bill.

According to him, “The bill seeks to help reposition and sanitise the media industry in Nigeria.

“And that is why I am calling for the stakeholders to come together and come up with a code that would be approved. There’s a process to approve the code, as all the stakeholders will come together before they can approve that code. So the code can be put together by the professional journalists based on what you think will be able to guide you and protect even the voiceless among you.

“There are many voiceless professionals. So the code will not be given by me. It will be put together by the journalists. It’s okay, the Press Council has a code. That code will guide and sanitise the industry. That’s all. The issue of the minister approving the code in my thinking is not compulsory. If the stakeholders don’t agree, then the minister has no problem with that, and we can come up with another idea of a board.”