President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged his administration’s support for the Nigerian media’s push for fair revenue from global technology companies, promising policy interventions to ease economic pressures on the industry.
Tinubu described the press as an “indispensable partner” in Nigeria’s democratic development and economic stability, assuring media leaders that his administration would back their campaign against what they describe as the dominance and anti-competitive practices of big tech companies.
The President gave the assurance during an inter-faith dinner with a delegation of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) at the State House in Abuja.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” he told the delegation on Friday.
He said the government would support evidence-based advocacy by the Nigerian media industry while working to dismantle fiscal obstacles and what he described as “digital cannibalisation” threatening the survival of local media organisations.
Tariff Review
As part of efforts to ease the financial burden on media organisations, Tinubu disclosed that the government was reviewing the tariff exemption list and could extend relief to key media production materials.
“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by the Chief Executive Officer of NPAN, Segun Adediran, on Sunday.
Items under consideration include newsprint, printing plates, chemicals, and broadcast equipment used by radio and television stations, which currently attract tariffs of five to 10 per cent.
“If this happens, these items would enjoy a status similar to that of educational and research materials,” the statement added.
Soaring Costs
The President’s pledge comes at a time when the industry has been grappling with soaring costs of newsprint and broadcast equipment, putting financial pressure on media houses across the country.
Earlier, Deputy President of NPAN and Publisher of BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun, speaking on behalf of the NPO, raised concerns about what he described as unfair practices by global technology firms.
According to him, some companies are increasingly “scraping” proprietary content from media organisations to train artificial intelligence models, sometimes by breaching digital paywalls.
Aigbogun said such practices were depriving Nigerian media organisations of a significant portion of their legitimate revenue.
He urged the president to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to work with the media industry to investigate the issue.
According to him, big tech dominance and anti-competitive practices are costing Nigerian media outlets as much as 70 per cent of potential revenue, running into hundreds of millions of dollars and resulting in job losses across the sector.
Govt Engaging Tech Giants
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government had already begun discussions with major technology companies, including Meta and Google.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” the minister said.
He added that the administration was committed to ensuring a fair digital ecosystem that protects local content creators and media organisations.
High-Level Delegation
The NPO delegation was led by its President and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru.
Other prominent media leaders present included veteran publisher Sam Amuka-Pemu, Chairman of Channels Television, Dr. John Momoh; Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE News Channel, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos; and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Eze Anaba.
Also present were former NPAN president Ray Ekpu, President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Danlami Nmodu, and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi.
Vice President Kashim Shettima and several senior presidential aides also attended the meeting.
The engagement follows a statement issued by the NPO in January warning that the growing influence of global technology platforms posed an existential threat to Nigeria’s media industry.
