President Tinubu Promises To Save Nigerian Media From Big Tech Dominance

ILESANMI OLUKEMI MOTUNRAYO

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged his administration’s support for the Nigerian media in addressing the challenges posed by Big Tech dominance, anti-competitive practices, and economic pressures affecting local media organisations.

The President described the press as an indispensable partner in Nigeria’s pursuit of economic stability, press freedom, and social cohesion.

Speaking during a meeting at the State House on Friday, President Tinubu said the Nigerian Government would support evidence-based efforts by the media to tackle unfair practices within the digital ecosystem.

He also promised that his administration would work to dismantle fiscal barriers and address what he described as “digital cannibalisation” threatening the sustainability of the local media industry.

The President gave this assurance during an interfaith dinner with a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), led by the NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru.

The delegation also included industry leaders and patrons, among them 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; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Alhaji Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos; former NPAN President and veteran journalist, Mr Ray Ekpu; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr Eze Anaba; President of the online publishers’ association, Mr Danlami Nmodu, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP); and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi, among others.

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 per cent. If approved, these items would enjoy a status similar to that of educational and research materials.

With the media industry reeling from skyrocketing newsprint and equipment costs, President Tinubu signalled his administration’s readiness to intervene by reviewing tariffs.

“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President said.

Earlier, the Deputy President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and Publisher of BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun, alleged that some technology companies were increasingly scraping proprietary creative content to train artificial intelligence models, often by breaching digital paywalls.

Speaking on behalf of the newspaper proprietors, Aigbogun urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to collaborate with the media industry in investigating claims that Big Tech dominance and anti-competitive practices are costing local media organisations about 70 per cent of their legitimate income.

Before the President’s response, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the government had already begun “engaging Big Tech,” including companies such as Meta and Google.

“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” he said.

Among other dignitaries present at the meeting were Vice President Kashim Shettima, as well as senior aides and special advisers to President Tinubu.

NPO had, in January, written to the government and also published a statement complaining about the existential threat posed by Big Tech operations.