The Federal Government will not control online publications, Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said.
The minister said this on Friday when he met with online publishers in Lagos, in continuation of his on-going consultation with key stakeholders in the information and culture sector according to a statement issued in Abuja by the minister.
Mohammed said it was not necessary to regulate online publications because the publishers are responsible enough to regulate themselves.
He however told the publishers to ensure that they maintain credibility.
“If the online publications suffer credibility problems, they stand the risk of losing the confidence of their readers and the advertisers who provide the lifeblood for the publications’ survival,” he said.
He said while the number of online publications was bound to grow in the days ahead, only the credible ones would continue to enjoy patronage, either from the readers or from the advertisers.
He said it was in the interest of government that Online Publications continue to grow in number because the more the number of such online publications, the easier it becomes to bridge the information gap between the government and the governed, and the easier it becomes for the government to carry the citizens along in the formulation and implementation of policies that touch on their lives.
The Minister promised that the Federal Government would patronise the online publications through adverts.
He said, “All we ask for, in return, is that you provide accurate information to the people, and avoid sensationalism and partisanship.
”The National Security Awareness Campaign, aimed at rallying the support of Nigerians for the war on terror, is on-going. Also, the National Sensitisation Campaign against Corruption was formally launched in Abuja on Monday, and it is aimed at rallying Nigerians against the cankerworm of corruption which has eaten deep into the fabric of our society.
“We are also preparing to launch a National Re-orientation Campaign, which is tagged ‘Change Begins With Me’, to achieve a paradigm shift in the way we do things.”
