By Kadiri Abdulrahman
The Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), on Thursday urged the Federal Government to support the print media to prevent it from going extinct.
Members of NPAN said this in Abuja, during a Business Lunch for some of their colleagues who were recently appointed as ministers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that four members of the association have been appointed as ministers by President Bola Tinubu.
They are Mr Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Economy, Mr Dele Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Idris Malagi, Minister of Information and National Orientation, and Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy.
The President of NPAN, Malam Kabir Yusuf, said that the media deserved to be supported because it played an integral role in national development.
Yusuf commended Tinubu for finding so many members of the association worthy to be appointed as ministers.
The publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, and life patron of NPAN, Mr Sam Amuka, said that it was commendable to have four of his colleagues as ministers.
He advised the ministers to represent the association well, urging them to use their influence in government to ensure a free press.
In his response, the Finance Minister, Wale Edun, assured the association that Tinubu’s economic reforms would be beneficial to all individuals and groups within the country.
Edun urged members of NPAN to support the government by being factual and objective in their reportage.
Mr Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, described himself as an NPAN ambassador in government.
He urged journalists to be analytical and to always resist the temptation to peddle falsehood.
“Do not join the crowd to peddle falsehood, ” he said.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Idris Malagi, described himself as the luckiest information minister in history.
Malagi said that his plan was to change the face of government communication.
“Trust in the communication coming out of government will be encouraged.
“I will not tell lies; I will say it the way it is. You people should also report it the way it is, ” he said.
He said that the government would also take steps to restore the integrity of public broadcasting by equipping and empowering government-owned broadcast houses.
Also present at the businesslaunch was veteran journalist and former governorof Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, as well as prominent senior Nigerian journalists. (NAN)
