Deji Elumoye in Abuja
The Senate President, Dr. Olusola Saraki, has challenged the media to be open and strive for the remaking of a world where the powerful will not oppress the weak.
Speaking weekend during a dinner at the 67th International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress Delegates in Abuja, Saraki stressed that the press now more than ever should strive to defend freedom as global events attest to this.
He opined that the media must be a defender of values by standing for rights and for openness.
While submitting that the media cannot allow itself to be complicit when false claims are made that could heat up the polity or set different groups against each other, Saraki said it behoves the media to expose the false claims by availing the public with verifiable facts.
He further identified some of the challenges facing the media to include the rise of social media and the internet and the mode of relaying news to an audience whose preference for receiving news is also changing by the day.
Describing the media as a galvanising artery that holds the world together, he expressed appreciation to the media for its steadfastness and courage notwithstanding the deprivation experienced by the journalist in his pursuit of people’s right to know.
Saraki also called on the media to be objective in its reportage of the February 2019 general election in the country.
He said: “As Nigeria heads into the 2019 election year, we plead with the press — national and international — to maintain objectivity at all times in their reporting.
“I say this because there can be no democracy without credible elections and if we get the election right, then we have a better chance of making a stronger society.”
The Senate President also expressed the commitment of the National Assembly towards upholding press freedom, adding that: “The 8th National Assembly will continue to support and ensure a free and vibrant press capable of playing its part in strengthening democratic norms.”
