‘FG Will Not Regulate Online Publications’
Read Time:2 Minute, 37 Second
THE Minister of information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has assured that the Federal Government will not regulate Online Publications in the country, noting that the publishers are responsible enough to regulate themselves.
The Minister gave the assurance on Friday when he met with Online Publishers in Lagos, in continuation of his ongoing consultation with key stakeholders in the Information and Culture sector.
He, however, told the publishers to ensure that they maintain their credibility, saying: “If the online publications suffer credibility problems, they stand the risk of losing the confidence of their readers and the advertisers who provide the lifeblood for the publications’ survival.”
Mohammed said while the number of online publications is bound to grow in the days ahead, only the credible ones would continue to enjoy patronage, either from the readers or from the advertisers.
He said it was in the interest of government that Online Publications continue to grow in number “because the more the number of such online publications, the easier it becomes to bridge the information gap between the government and the governed, and the easier it becomes for the government to carry the citizens along in the formulation and implementation of policies that touch on their lives.”
The minister promised that the Federal Government would patronise the Online Publications through adverts, saying: “All we ask for, in return, is that you provide accurate information to the people, and avoid sensationalism and partisanship.”
He sought the publishers’ support to ensure the success of the various campaigns that have either been launched or are about to be launched by the Federal Government.
“The National Security Awareness Campaign, aimed at rallying the support of Nigerians for the war on terror, is ongoing. Also, the National Sensitisation Campaign Against Corruption was formally launched in Abuja on Monday, and it is aimed at rallying Nigerians against the cankerworm of corruption, which has eaten deep into the fabric of our society. We are also preparing to launch a National Re-orientation Campaign, which is tagged ‘CHANGE BEGINS WITH ME’, to achieve a paradigm shift in the way we do things,” Mohammed said.
Describing the war against corruption as one of the cardinal programmes of the Buhari administration, he said: “Some have said the government is dwelling too much on the war against corruption to the detriment of other areas of governance. Our response to that is that indeed, there is nothing like dwelling too much on this war, which is a war of survival for our nation.
“The situation is grim, very grim indeed, as far as corruption is concerned. That is why the Federal Government is embarking on this sensitisation campaign. Our approach is not to vilify anyone but to use facts and figures to give Nigerians a sense of the cost of corruption,” he added.
The minister blamed corruption for the fact that while the country’s budget had grown consistently from just over N900 billion in 1999 to over N6 trillion in 2016, poverty has also grown almost in direct proportion.
“The simple reason is that appropriated funds have ended up in the pockets of a few,” he said.
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