The Presidency has disowned the controversial media bills before the National Assembly.
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, who spoke with newsmen after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, said the Minister of Information and Culture, was the one one who could address the issue.
The National Assembly is in the process of amending the Nigerian Press Council Act and National Broadcasting Commission Act, a move media stakeholders have described as an attempt to muzzle the press.
Adesina told State House Correspondents: “That is not strictly a Presidency thing because the President has nothing to do with that.
“It’s a government thing and it’s the Minister that can talk about it.”
Asked to react to ECOWAS Court ruling against Nigeria for suspending micro-blogging platform, Twitter, Adesina said the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, was studying the ruling that users could not be arrested or prosecuted and would advise the Federal Government on the next step to take.
Adesina said the committee, made up of Ministers, to engage with Twitter has begun to meet.
He said Buhari had approved that the Second Peer Review Country Self-assessment Report should be done.
He said: “The only thing of interest I would like to talk about is the second Peer Review Country’s Self-assessment Report.
“Nigeria is ready for the second Peer Review Country Self-Assessment Report to be done by AUDA-NEPAD.
“I think the last self-assessment report was done 10 years ago in Nigeria.
“Now, Nigeria is ready for the second review self-assessment report.
“It’s been discussed at the Council and the President has granted the approval that that peer review report can be conducted on Nigeria.
“Actually, if you have an insight into the report that was presented, which the woman in charge of NEPAD, Mrs Akobundu, can give you, Nigeria has made progress in several areas and on several fronts.
“While 10 years ago petroleum contributed more than 70 per cent, even up to 90 per cent, to GDP, you will find that today petroleum contributes just about 45 per cent and non-oil products contribute about 55 per cent to the Nigerian economy.
“So, if Nigeria had been talking of diversification for 40, 50, 60 years, the economy can now be said to be diversified because our GDP, non-oil revenue, contributes about 55 per cent to 45 per cent of oil.
“So, it’s one of the highlights of the Peer Review Country Self-Assessment Report that was presented at the Council meeting today.
“Details of that can be gotten from the AUDA-NEPAD office.”
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