The president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Friday assured that the senate would not censor the media.
This is contained in a statement by his Media Assistant, Bamikole Omishore, made available to the newsmen in Abuja.
The
statement said that Mr. Saraki gave the assurance when members of the
Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN) led by its president, Olufemi Awoyemi, visited him.
It said the group’s visit was in connection with the widely criticized "Frivolous Petitions Prohibition Bill 2015’’ popularly tagged ‘’Anti-Social Media Bill’’.
Mr.
Saraki told the group that he would not support any form of censorship
of the media, saying that the 8th Senate remained committed to the
principles of fair, responsible and open engagement.
“The Senate has no intention to pass any legislation to control or gag the press,” the statement quoted him as saying.
He,
however, charged the group to do its part to ensure that international
best practices were adopted, while also abiding by the ethics of
journalism.
Earlier, Mr. Owoyemi, according to the
statement, said that a section of the Bill aimed at criminalizing false
statements and use of unsupported petitions on social media.
The
group assured the president of the senate that the association
comprised credible publishers of online platforms and newspapers with
online presence.
“In OPAN’s assessment, the
legislature remains critical to how Nigeria quickly harnesses the
potentials of online technology and use of social media as a critical
component of citizen engagement.
“To achieve this,
OPAN Nigeria sees a link between constitutionally provided freedom of
expression and responsible conduct and engagement by users and
publishers.
“We aim to ensure responsible conduct
across digital platforms which in some cases were as simple as
recognizing the variants in existing laws around newspaper, radio,
television and digital publishing and broadcast,’’ Mr. Owoyemi said.
'Senate will not censor media' – Senate President assures
Reviewed by Vita Ioanes
on
Friday, December 11, 2015
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