Minister reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to press freedom

Minister reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to press freedom

Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s unflinching support for the core values of press freedom.

Idris made this statement during a courtesy visit from Mr. David Greene, the US Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria.

This was contained in a statement by Idris’ Special Assistant on Media, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday.

The Minister emphasized that encouraging press freedom is essential to a thriving democracy and open government.

“While we are for press freedom, we also want to call on the government of the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards reducing the spate of misinformation, fake news, and mal-information”.

The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria’s dedication to democracy and stressed the need for the US, as a major ally, to strengthen its backing for the Tinubu-led government and its initiatives to restructure the Nigerian economy based on the Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said that the main goals of the Renewed Hope Agenda are: social inclusion, the rule of law, food security, growth, employment creation, and the elimination of poverty.

“President Tinubu has since hit the ground running in his quest to attract foreign investments by his physical presence at various economic fora, engagements with business leaders and key stakeholders.

“First was in Paris for the Summit on New Global Financing Pact, followed by the G20 Summit in India, and the recently concluded Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.

“As you well know, President Tinubu is in Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference, in furtherance of his determination to retool the Nigerian economy through strategic partnership,” Idris said.

Minister reaffirms Nigeria’s commitment to press freedom