President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged his government’s support for the Nigerian media’s campaign against ‘Big Tech’ dominance, anti-competitive activities, and the harsh economic headwinds affecting local media.
The President, who described the press as an “indispensable partner” in the nation’s journey towards economic stability, press freedom, and social cohesion also said his government would help dismantle the fiscal hurdles and “digital cannibalization” currently threatening the survival of the press.
The president made the promises during interfaith dinner with a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation led by the NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru.
The delegation included industry leaders such as Aremo Olusegun Osoba, publisher of Vanguard; Mr. Sam Amuka, Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE News Channel; Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Chairman of Channels Television, Dr. John Momoh; and Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Alhaji Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos.
Other members of the delegation included former NPAN President and veteran journalist, Mr. Ray Ekpu; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Mr. Eze Anaba; President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Mr. Danlami Nmodu; and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Comrade Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi.
Also present were all executive members of NPAN, managing directors of media houses, top media practitioners across all platforms, and representatives of civil society.
President Tinubu said his government was already reviewing the tariff exemption list and would consider the inclusion of items used by the media, such as newsprint, plates, chemicals, and radio and television broadcast equipment, which currently attract tariffs of 5 to 10 percent.
If this happens, these items would enjoy a status similar to that of educational and research materials.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President said.
Earlier, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, Deputy President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and Publisher of BusinessDay, in a speech delivered on behalf of the NPO, accused some tech companies of increasingly “scraping” proprietary creative content to train AI models, often by breaching digital paywalls.
Aigbogun requested the President to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to work with the media to investigate complaints that Big Tech dominance and anti-competitive practices were costing local media at least 70 percent of its legitimate income.
This income is estimated by some sources at hundreds of millions of dollars, in addition to the loss of jobs and opportunities.
Before the President’s response, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the government had already begun “engaging Big Tech” companies including Meta and Google.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris said.
Among other dignitaries present at the meeting were Vice President Kashim Shettima and senior aides and special advisers to President Tinubu.
The NPO had in January written to the government and also published a statement complaining about the existential threat Big Tech operations pose to local media.