•Guild of Editors, NUJ seek suspension of proceedings

President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated the commitment of his administration to protect free speech in keeping with democratic tradition.

He promised that he won’t assent to any legislation that might be inconsistent with the constitution.

This followed public hostility towards the Social Media Bill being debated by the Senate.

Reacting to the public outcry against the bill, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, said Buhari has sworn to defend the constitution and would not lend his hand to anything that was inconsistent with the document.

“But he is not averse to lawful regulation, so long as that is done within the ambit of the constitution, which he swore to uphold,” he said.

Shehu added that the President said free speech was central to democratic societies anywhere in the world.

Without free speech, the president explained that elected representatives won’t be able to gauge public feelings and moods about governance issues.

“As a key component of democratic principles,” the president acknowledged that people in democratic societies “are so emotionally attached to free speech that they would defend it with all their might”.

Noting that Buhari was aware of the public reservations about the proposed legislation, he said the President has assured that there was no cause for alarm.

“Because the Senate is a democratic Senate, the President won’t assent to any legislation that may be inconsistent with the constitution of Nigeria,” he stated.

But the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) have urged the Senate to unconditionally suspend proceedings on the bill.

President of NGE GarbaDeen Muhammad, in a statement yesterday, said the broad objective of the bill was to outlaw the freedom of expression of the citizens and freedom of speech of media organisations operating in print, electronic and on-line platforms.

The statement further reads: “Appallingly, the bill has also included as its target very personal and private means of communication such as SMS or text messages and WhatsApp, among others.

“The freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed in section 22 and 39(1) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution respectively. Therefore, to enact any kind of law under any guise that will contradict these fundamental provisions is to deliberately seek to undermine the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“We are, therefore, concerned that a group of persons elected by Nigerians to ensure that their rights, privileges and interests are protected, should gleefully misuse the mandate given to them to the detriment of the same people that elected them.

“As other concerned individuals and groups have pointed out, the Senate should note that there are already existing laws in our constitution that can accommodate all the concerns, real or imagined, that the proposed Bill is expected to address. These laws include the Cyber Crime (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, the Libel law etc.

“In view of this and the glaring danger posed by the proposed bill, the NGE is strongly advising the Senate to drop all proceedings on the proposed Bill and turn its attention instead to critical areas in need of urgent intervention.

“While believing that members of the Senate have a right both individually and collectively to express their concerns about the abuse of the cyberspace by unscrupulous people and organisations, we advise them to consolidate or strengthen the existing laws and enforce implementation.”

National President of NUJ Waheed Odusile yesterday vowed that the media would not allow the bill to see the light of the day.

He said this at a lecture titled: “Nigeria Beyond Oil”, which was part of activities marking the 2015 Press Week of NUJ, Oyo State Council in Ibadan.

Odusile said what the proponents of the controversial bill were trying to do was to bring back the  Decree 4 of 1983 to satisfy their selfish interests, adding that “it is a law targetted at restricting freedom of expression”.

Imploring NUJ state councils to submit petitions at their respective state assemblies, he    said the union would mobilise its members to the National Assembly to stop the bill whenever it is presented for public hearing.courtesy: thenation,