NPAN questions exclusion of print media owners from NPC public hearing

By Christiana Ekpa

The Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has expressed surprise over exclusion of print media owners in public hearing on a bill seeking amendments of the Nigerian Press Council Amendment bill.
A statement yesterday by Kabiru A. Yusuf, President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, NPAN, said the Association has received with suprise, news of a public hearing scheduled for today, Thursday, June 17, 2021, on the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Amendment Bill without invitation extended to it.
The statement said available information before it showed that the hearing had initially been scheduled for yesterday, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, along with four other media related bills.
“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,” the statement said.
It adds: “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.”