The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has questioned the exclusion of the print media from the public hearing scheduled for Thursday, June 17, 2021, on the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Amendment Bill.
According to a statement by Kabiru A. Yusuf President of NPAN he said the body received surprise, news of a public hearing scheduled for Thursday, June 17, 2021, on the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Amendment Bill.
NPAN said that: ‘In fact, going by available information, the hearing had initially been scheduled for Wednesday, June 16, 2021, along with four other media related bills.
NPAN lamented that as a stakeholder in the Nigerian media space, it can not comprehend why print media owners have not been invited to participate in the hearing.
The statement reads
“As a stakeholder in the Nigerian media space, we don’t understand why print media owners have not been invited to participate in the hearing.
“This is contrary to earlier practice when the NPAN was invited to a public hearing on the same bill in the last Senate.
“This time around, we find it strange that we would get to know of this development by sheer happenstance.
“We therefore call on the leadership of the National Assembly, and the House of Representatives in particular, to redress this anomaly.
“With the public hearing now delayed by a day, the NPAN will endeavor to show up, even without a a formal invitation.
“We also call on all media workers, and their organisations, to pay attention to the public hearing which may have important consequences on the freedom of the press in particular and good governance in general. “
