Gbajabiamila: I’ll Not Be Party To Any Press Gagging Bill

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi
Gbajabiamila, on Monday, said he would not be a party to
any bill that sought to gag media practitioners.
Gbajabiamila made the assertion at an award ceremony
tagged “Recognising Good Governance and Legislative
Excellence in the Face of Adversity,” in Abuja.
The speaker was reacting to calls by some stakeholders to
expunge the Press Council Bill, which sought to regulate
activities of media practitioners.
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“I will not be part of any bill that will seek to gag the press,
no bill will come to the floor of the house that seeks to
gag the press because the press is supposed to be the
voice of the people.
“However, there is press freedom and there is freedom of
expression; it is important for Nigerians to listen to one
another and understand each other so that we can make
progress as a nation.
“There is nowhere in the world where freedom of
expression is absolute, freedom of expression is limited to
the extent that it does not affect another person’s
freedom.
“That is made abundantly clear in the Constitution itself. If
you go to section 45, it states the freedom of expression
you have is limited for the sake of security, it is written in
black and white,”