RADIO NIGERIA
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is committed to freedom of the press, and urges media professionals to wield freedom responsibly.
In a statement, the President Buhari celebrates the landmark day with the media and notes that freedom of the press is an irreducible minimum in a democracy that will flourish, emphasising that freedom must, however, be used responsibly.
President Buhari says the media must be sensitive to what Nigeria is experiencing and anything that would exacerbate the situation, and further inflame passions and emotions, must be avoided.
According to him, the media need to ensure that while informing, educating, entertaining and setting agenda for public discourse, it does not encourage incendiary words and actions that could further hurt Nigerians’ unity in diversity.
On the part of government, President Buhari pledges greater co-operation with the media to discharge its duties, in line with the theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day, ‘Information as a Public Good.’
He charges those who manage information for government to do everything in public interest, while also encouraging the media to use the Freedom of Information Act available to make its job easier.
The President submits that it is very vital to have access to reliable information in an era of misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech, aimed at to causing discord in society.