November 16, 2009 04:35AMT
Journalists across the country will, today, voice their opposition to a Bill which seeks to establish a Nigerian Press and Practice of Journalism Council at a public hearing holding at the National Assembly, Abuja.
Sponsored by Abike Dabiri, a broadcast journalist representing Ikorodu, Lagos, the Bill seeks to repeal the Nigerian Press Council Act of 1992 which seeks to, “promote high professional standards for the Nigerian Press”, as well as deal with complaints about the conduct of journalists and media houses and vice-versa.
However, prominent journalists have described the Bill as “a wasteful exercise” which is “discriminatory and unconstitutional.”
The Editor-in-Chief of Media Review, Lanre Idowu, told NEXT in a telephone interview that many sections of the 35-page document which detailed the Bill “are a cause for concern.”
“From what I have seen so far, it is an attempt to marry three different Bills together, including the Journalism Practice Enhancement Bill and the old Nigeria Press Council Bill. By so doing, what we have is a child with distorted features,” he said.
The President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Gbenga Adefaye [pictured], said the Bill itself is “laughable.” According to him, “They don’t seem to understand that the Constitution makes the media practice a business and it is discriminatory to pick a particular business and try to legislate on it this way.”
Mr. Idowu, on his part, has an issue with the name of the Bill. He said, “It shows that there is a lot of confusion over what it’s supposed to achieve, and there are some funny, objectionable clauses that were rejected in the old Press Council law which have found their way back into this one.”
That is talking of fining people N250,000 and or imprisonment. When we talk about a Press Council law, we are talking about moral, ethical changes that can be resolved without necessarily ending in the law courts. They might not be criminal matters,” he said.
Lessons in history
On his opinion on Section 35 (Conditions of Service) which stipulates that journalists are to be paid “at least not less than 20 per cent above those paid to staff in government parastatals and private companies,” Mr. Adefaye said the precedents of the legislators will likely end up working against their purposes.
“This is the same House of Reps that has had with it for years the Freedom of Information Bill which is supposed to help us have informed governance and create an informed citizenry. I will take it that they are concerned about professionalising the Press, and that is fine. But they want to legislate on salaries. By our Constitution, you legislate on the minimum wage, the only other place where you legislate on income is as may be done for public officers by the RMAFC. Salaries are negotiated between workers and management. So for you to set aside the press and legislate on these salaries without the consideration of the earning power of these businesses is discriminatory. This is one aspect of the Bill that is ugly.”
Mr. Idowu said he finds Section 33 (Appointment as Editor) of the Bill incomprehensible.
“It says the person must have attained the age of 25 years, yet must have worked for 10 years. How is it possible for someone who has 10 years experience in media work to be 25 years?”
Also speaking on Section 16, Mr. Idowu said; “there is some provision for having a media practitioner complaints commission (MPCC) in all states, nine members in 37 locations, that’s 333 members, and all of them will draw allowances. I think it is a waste of our resources and time.”
Guild of Editors react
Ahead of today’s hearing, the Nigerian Guild of Editors issued a statement yesterday which said of the Bill; “there is hardly any redeeming value in its 12 parts and 79 sections. The Guild is shocked that this travesty carries the name of a distinguished journalist, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, as sponsor.”
The coalition of editors described the planned Media Practitioner Complaint Commission as “an answer to the prayer of those who have sort to criminalise libel.” The section imposes fines from N50,000 for journalists to N100,000 or suspension for media organisations.
The Guild statement said; “This punitive position is unacceptable, especially at a time when the industry has set up a self-regulatory mechanism – the Press Ombudsman – to deal with press complaints. The Press Ombudsman should be given a chance to work.
The Guild also voiced its disapproval of Section 10 of the Bill which requires the members of the proposed Journalism Council to swear to an oath of secrecy, saying, “This may be a standard ritual in government offices, but journalism is about revelation and conflict.”
But the sponsor of the controversial bill, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa told NEXT in a telephone interview last night that “the final outcome is what matters.” According to her, “I expect a gathering of all stakeholders. It’s a proposal. Let them all come to the public hearing, tear it to pieces and let’s produce what we want for the Nigerian media period.”
She added, “The Guild (of Editors), NPAN, NUJ, let’s sit together, amongst all of them will be a technical group that will work on it, remove what you don’t want, add what you want. That’s the essence. We cannot sit down and do nothing.”
When asked about the pending Freedom of Information Bill and the Nigerian Press Council Bill of 2004, Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa replied; “This is the Press Council Bill (of 2004). There is a misconception, they don’t seem to understand. Now, they will understand better when everybody comes.”
*Photograph by NEXT
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