The government which has banned Twitter also seeks to amend the Nigerian Press Council Act and the National Broadcasting Commission Act that are currently before the National Assembly to have more control over the press.
Former Editor-In-Chief of Newswatch Magazine, Ray Ekpu said the moves by the government would fail, adding that the media would fight “valiantly” to resist the anti-democratic actions of the Buhari regime.
Ekpu also said with the actions of his government, Buhari was bringing back the infamous Decree 4 of 1984, enacted during the dark days of military rule.
“Decree 4 is Buhari’s decree; he is bringing it back in a democratic form using people like Lai Mohammed. He has been talking about China – ‘In China, you can’t use your phone, in China, you can’t do this and that’ but are we in China? We were in China before for many years during different military governments but that is no longer the case,” he said.
On his part, Bayo Onanuga, a former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria said the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, was treading “a very dangerous path” by muzzling free speech and press freedom in the country.
“Lai (Mohammed) may not understand what he has done but it is a great assault on press freedom; the freedom to freely say anything you want to say under a democracy because that freedom is guaranteed under the constitution.”
Gbenga Adefaye, who is a former Editor-In-Chief of Vanguard Newspapers,said “Freedom of expression is in our constitution. This is even beyond Decree 4 right now; what is happening is beyond Decree 4. In a democracy? This won’t be allowed. The NGE is already working with other organisations like the NUJ and other civil society organisations on actions.
“I don’t want to pre-empt our eventual agreement but we are not happy at all.”
Punch