We won’t gag press but media should be regulated – Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that he will not be part of any bill that seeks to gag the press.
He, however, said that the media should be regulated, stressing that no institution including the press would be allowed to operate unchecked.
He stated this on Monday during the annual dinner and award of excellence held under the theme ‘Reorganising Good Governance and Legislative Excellence in the Face of Adversity’.
The move by the lower chamber to amend the laws establishing the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has attracted a lot of criticisms from opinion leaders, journalists and other members of the public.
Gbajabiamila said, “I will not be part of any bill that will seek to gag the press. No bill will come to the floor of the House that seeks to gag the press, because the press as it is supposed to be, is supposed to be the voice of the people.”
According to the speaker, there is press freedom and freedom of expression and there will always be, adding however that nowhere in the world where freedom of expression is absolute.
He said freedom of expression is limited to the extent that it does not affect another person’s freedom.
He pointed out that freedom of expression is not absolute, adding it was made absolutely clear in the constitution.
The Speaker said Section 45 of the Nigerian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression but added that the government could limit that freedom for the sake of health and security, which he said was written in black and white.
He said, “Once, I will never allow the gagging of the press. I worry where at every turn when the National Assembly tries to promulgate the law with the best of intentions and everybody descends on the National Assembly.
“Using this as a sample, this Press Council Bill. I called the proponent of the bill, what is going on, what have you done and he tried to break it down. I haven’t read the bill personally myself but I will read it in the next couple of days in detail. I just have a general idea of the context.
“He told me he had a meeting with all the stakeholders. I wasn’t present at the meeting. Because I said to him, I hope you are meeting with these guys, whatever provision they have problem with, whatever provision that is inimical to the development of the press or the growth of the press, remove it or tweak it in such a way that everybody will be happy.”
Gbajabiamila said the fact that no institution wanted to be regulated gave him concern.
“We are getting to a point in this country, nobody wants to be regulated; the NGOs don’t want to be regulated; the religious bodies don’t want to be regulated; social media doesn’t want to be regulated; professors of universities go on strike because they don’t want to be on the same payment platform as everybody else,” he said.
The speaker wondered what the function of government would be if not to regulate for good government.
He added: “Regulations are a key component or essential component of good governance. We cannot just let people or any institution run amok. The executive is regulated, the judiciary to a large extent is regulated, the legislature is regulated. Just name it. Institutions are meant to be regulated.
“There is no one institution that can be above the law, especially an institution that is meant to be the fourth estate of the realm whose utterances or writings can make it break even a government.”
The speaker said as long the provisions in the bill would guarantee the independence of the press, it was non-negotiable.