The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, says a lawmaker, not President Muhammadu Buhari, sponsored bills to gag the press.

The minister stated this on Friday, pointing out that a lawmaker sponsored the bills concerning the Nigerian Press Council and the National Broadcasting Commission.

The minister stated, “First, let me say how disappointed I am that those who have been berating me on these bills have been doing so on a false premise that the federal government had sponsored bills to stifle the press. This is a classic case of misinformation because the federal government did not sponsor any bill to gag the press.”

He added, “It baffles me that those who rushed to the media to slam the government didn’t even try to verify the facts. I insist that the bills were not sponsored by the federal government.

“I was invited as the minister of information and culture to make my contributions, just like many other stakeholders, at the public hearing. It was an opportunity for stakeholders to make their input into the bills. I attended and made my contributions.’’

Mr Mohammed said those falsely accusing the federal government and misinforming the public on the bills had a chance to make their contributions during the public hearing.

The minister said, “The Nigerian Press Organisation, which represented the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Guild of Editors, and the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, appeared there merely for appearance’s sake.

“Instead of strongly stating their reservations on the bill on the Nigerian Press Council, they were more interested in stopping the hearing, hinging their argument on the case at the Supreme Court on the Press Council. It is a shame that some of us love democracy so much but hate the fine details of democracy and its processes.”

(NAN)