The Senate dismissed insinuations that the ongoing efforts by the National Assembly to amend the National Broadcasting Commission Act and other media laws are a ploy to gag the media and stifle freedom of expression.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru says that the current efforts to amend the NBC Act and other relevant laws should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to stifle freedom of speech and free press.
He, however, said there is the need to ensure that some regulations are put in place to prevent abuse of such rights as exhibited by a few media establishments and individuals in recent times.
He stated that the current attempt to amend the NBC Act and the Press Council Act is to improve and sanitise the media industry and not to stifle the civic space.