Following the plan by the Federal Government to regulate the social media, the Minister for information, Lai Mohammed said the regulation is not intended to gag the media or infringe on free speech.
The Minister insisted that journalists have nothing to fear about the intended regulation stressing that the federal government’s intention is aimed at sanitizing the media space and promote professionalism.
Mohammed said this at a meeting with the National Executive of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Abuja.
The minister assured the journalists that the regulation would not harm the media.
He said: “The NUJ put the cart before the horse by publicly rejecting the planned social media regulation without even trying to understand what it entails.
“To the best of my knowledge, the trained, professional journalists cannot afford to engage in fake news, because this will kill public trust in the media.
“They also cannot afford to engage in hate speech, because of its implication for national peace and unity. After all, there has to be a country before you can even practice your profession.”
“It is, therefore, imperative for the NUJ and other professional bodies to guard their turf very jealously and ward off charlatans and fakes.
“When we announced the plan to regulate social media, we said clearly that the regulation is not an attempt to gag the media or muzzle free speech. We said journalists have nothing to fear.”
