Nigeria Press Council urges FG to protect information sovereignty

The Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) has called on the Presidency and the National Assembly to urgently intervene in protecting the country’s information ecosystem from the growing dominance of global digital platforms.

In a joint statement, the NPO warned that Nigeria is at “a critical inflexion point in its democratic and digital evolution,” stressing that decisions taken now will shape the future of journalism, national security, and democratic governance.

The umbrella body, which also comprises the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), said the question before the Nigerian state is clear: “Can a democracy of Nigeria’s scale, diversity, and complexity afford to surrender control of its information ecosystem to unregulated global digital gatekeepers?”

The statement was signed by NPAN President, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; NGE President, Eze Anaba; BON Chairman, Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; GOCOP President, Danlami Nmodu and NUJ President, Alhassan Yahaya.

NPO said global platforms now dominate digital advertising markets, with algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determining what citizens see, amplify, or ignore.

“Nigerian news content is monetised at scale without proportionate reinvestment in local journalism. Revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore,” the NPO said.

The organisation warned that the consequences go beyond media economics, noting that weakened journalism fuels misinformation, disinformation, and polarisation.

“No counterterrorism, policing, or intelligence framework can fully compensate for a collapsed information order,” it said.

On democratic governance, the NPO stressed that elections and citizen participation depend on reliable information.

“When professional journalism is displaced by algorithmic virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to distortion, foreign influence, and coordinated falsehoods,” it added.

The body further argued that press freedom cannot thrive without economic viability. “A press that struggles to pay salaries, fund investigations, and retain talent is, in effect, unfree, regardless of legal protections,” the statement noted.

Citing global precedents, the NPO pointed to measures taken by the European Union, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and South Africa to curb gatekeeper dominance and secure funding for domestic journalism.

It urged Nigeria to adopt a “measured, Nigerian-designed framework” that recognises journalism as a public-interest activity, corrects bargaining imbalances, and ensures fair remuneration for local content. Institutions such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), it said, already have the statutory authority to enforce remedies.

“This appeal is not a request for protectionism. It is a call for strategic leadership to ensure that Nigeria’s democratic conversation is not quietly outsourced to opaque commercial algorithms beyond national control,” the NPO said.

Nigerians can now invest ₦2.5 million on premium domains and profit about ₦17-₦25 million. All earnings paid in US Dollars. Rather than wonder, click here to find out how it works.

Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.