The controversial Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Amendment Bill, have been suspended by the House of representatives.
Segun Odebunmi, who is the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Information National Orientation Ethics and Values, told Channels TV that the suspension is necessary for proper consultations over the bill.
“We have been on this process for a while and right now, we have suspended it for more consultation to happen on it,” he said.
Media practitioners and operators have particularly criticised the bill, saying that it is a move to shrink the civic space.
On Monday, print and online media organisations protested against the bill, expressing their grievances on their front pages.
The newspapers unanimously published an advertorial titled “Information Blackout” to portray that the Act amendment bills considered by the lawmakers were against the right of citizens’ information.
The advertorial, carried in all the nation’s major newspapers in their print editions partly read: “It’s not just against the media. It is about society’s right to know, your right to be heard.”