Daily Independent
(Lagos)
Olisemeka Obeche
6 October 2008
Lagos — Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) at the weekend condemned in strong terms the sudden injection of a section that requires "security and court clearance before a piece of information can be released" into the proposed Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill by the Senate Committee on Information.
Rising from its maiden standing committee meeting in Lagos, the Gbenga Adefaye-led NGE not only described the new Section 2 of the FoI Bill as "obnoxious and toxic" but demanded that it be expunged from the document to avoid impeding the attainment of the benefits of a freedom of information regime in Nigeria.
The NGE in a statement jointly signed by its President and Secretary, Gbenga Adefaye and John Ndukuba, respectively, also decried the increase in cases of physical assault on journalists by public officers, and demanded immediate stop to such barbaric and crude action.
The "nine-point resolution" reached by the NGE after a critical appraisal of the state of the media and nation read in part:
"The introduction of a new toxic Section 2 into the proposed Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill by the Information Committee of the Senate marks a setback in the quest for the citizen's access to information.
"The toxic Section 2 demands security and court clearance before a piece of information can be released under the proposed law. The bureaucracy, litigation cost and time lines inherent in the proposed law would certainly make it a dead law if passed as proposed.
"The Guild re-affirms that the FoI Bill is not a media legislation as is being erroneously portrayed, but one that seeks to empower every Nigerian, deepen democracy and enhance participatory governance through transparency and accountability in line with President Yar'Adua's vision for a truly corruption-free Nigeria."
While applauding the government for the prompt re-opening of Channels Television and the release of its staff by security agencies, the Guild also tasked the Presidency to adhere to its "promise of a rule of law regime", and warned against the use of brute force on the media as response to perceived professional breaches.
It, however, calls on media practitioners to be thorough in the discharge of their duties.
"We condemn the arbitrary sack of the Editor-in-Chief of Legacy Newspaper by the Zamfara State Government in the course of his professional duties, and demand for his re-instatement," the NGE said.
The Standing Committee of the Guild also ratified membership of 18 Editors in line with its constitution, as well as approved the commencement of operations of its website, www.nigerianguildofeditors.com, and urged all editors to make maximum use of the website for information (constitution, online registration, debates, notices, training opportunities, etc.) about the affairs of the Guild and the media industry in general.
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