Given the foregoing assurance from the Presidency, not a few observers of this ongoing administration were flabbergasted to read in the media that the leadership of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Tinubu’s led administration over “the unlawful ban and withdrawal of the accreditations of 25 journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa.”
It is not an overstatement to say that the President is the most important political figure in any country, and in Nigeria, and as such he is at any given time a newsworthy political figure to virtually every Journalist. Despite the somewhat distortion on news reporting format in some cases in recent years with the emergence of new media, and the unprecedented posting of huge number of political correspondents to the Aso Rock Villa by various media houses, and shifts in the political nature of the nation, the press’ fundamental role in reporting on the Presidency remains indispensable in Nigerian democracy.
The reason for the foregoing view cannot be farfetched as democracy needs a free press in order to have an informed citizenry, and throughout Nigerian history this freedom has remained constant. Given the foregoing, it is expedient to opine that a history of journalism and the presidency in Nigeria reveals that although the press has gone through enormous changes, technologically and politically, the fundamental relationship between the press and the presidency has been maintained.
In fact, the press’ relationship with the presidency can be explained through a theory of characterizing presidents as either “open” or “closed” depending on the president’s decision when faced with the dilemma of whether to fulfill the desire to be effective versus the desire to preserve democratic values.
This theory can be demonstrated with examples of case studies of both “open” and “closed” presidencies right from the epochs of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, andformer President Goodluck Jonathan to that of former President Muhammadu Buhari. At the end of the day, the presidency has evolved and shifted with presidents of different personalities and policy positions, and it has changed based on different political contexts in the country and the world, and it is expedient to opine that the fundamental relationship between the press and the presidency has remained the same by byzantine and combative approach even as the democratic notion of press freedom will always be valued in Nigeria.
At this juncture, it is expedient to recall that in a spate of six years upon the emergence of the administration of the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari that his led administration was reported to be extremely repressive for the media as impunity reached a new high. In fact, the report has it that about 300 press freedom violations, including the unresolved killings of seven journalists were recorded within the period.
The Report, titled “The State of Media Freedom in Nigeria”, and launched in Abuja on June 30, 2021, focused primarily on the six years of President Buhari’s government as at the time the report was released, andthe report catalogued violations ranging from murder to torture, arrest and detentions, sentencing, physical assaults, threats against journalists as well as the arbitrary shutdown/suspension of media organizations.
In fact, the report which was produced by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in collaboration with the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), with funding support from Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).says the violations affected over 500 media organizations and media professionals even as it also named members of the defense and security services, politicians, political party thugs and the regulatory authorities among the biggest violators of press freedom in Nigeria.
“The lack of transparency, corruption and politics of exclusion often result in frustrations and violent rivalries, creating dangerous environments in which journalists become easy targets for powerful forces intent on suppressing dissent and evading public accountability,” Christopher Isiguzo, President of the NUJ, observed in his address at the time.
Given the foregoing undemocratic atmosphere prevailed throughout the two-term tenure of the former president throughout the period the immediate past administration lasted, it was elating for not a few Journalists to hear Mr. AjuriNgelale, the special adviser to President Tinubu on media and publicity when he, last month, pledged to ensure free flow of information between the Presidential Villa and members of the press.
It will be recalled that while speaking with members of the State House Press Corps on Tuesday, August 1, 2023 in Abuja, that Ngelaleassured that ensuring free flow of information between the Presidential Villa and members of the press would be the focal point of his duty as the presidential spokesman.
“We believe it is the right, not the privilege, of every Nigerian to have full access to the affairs of the Presidential Villa, to the affairs of the office of the president, and the office of the vice president.
“We will be more open in terms of providing access to information to radio networks, television networks, newspapers, and online news media than ever before.
“We are committed to ensuring that there is a zero tolerance policy on every spokesperson and every media functionary that works here in the government in terms of how we relate with Nigerians through the press.”
Given the foregoing assurance from the Presidency, not a few observers of this ongoing administration were flabbergasted to read in the media that the leadership of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against Tinubu’s led administration over “the unlawful ban and withdrawal of the accreditations of 25 journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa.”
According to reports, the Federal Government on 18 August 2023 withdrew the accreditation tags of some 25 journalists and media houses from covering activities at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The affected journalists were told at the main gate of the Presidential Villa to submit their accreditation tags.
However, SERAP said the ban failed “to meet the requirements of legality, necessity, and proportionality.”
In a suit (number FHC/L/CS/1766/23) filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, SERAP seeks: “An order to direct and compel President Tinubu to reverse the revocation of the accreditations and ban on 25 journalists and media houses from covering the Presidential Villa.”
Given the foregoing, it is not a misnomer to conclude that the disaccreditation of the 25 Journalists from covering activities in the presidential villa is a failure on the part of the government to ensure free press.