*Hails Obaigbena on Lekeelekee, urges support for new social media platform• Pledges to support initiatives to protect media, address tariffs concerns

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

President Bola Tinubu yesterday urged states and local governments to use the increasing funds now available to them to deliver tangible development at the grassroots level. He emphasised that government officials must be held accountable for ensuring that, due to the increased allocations, projects and programmes positively impact local communities.

Speaking while hosting leaders of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) to an Interfaith breaking of fast at the State House, Abuja, Tinubu used the occasion to address growing concerns about the impact of global technology companies on the traditional media industry.

Equally, he pledged his government’s support for initiatives to protect Nigeria’s media ecosystem against any known foreign influence.

The President referenced local initiatives such as Lekeelekee, a new social media platform designed to redefine the future of digital communication and challenge Western dominance in the African and global tech space, recently launched by the Chairman/Editor-in-Chief, THISDAY Media Group and ARISE News Channel, Prince Nduka Obaigbena, as examples of innovation that deserve encouragement.

Tinubu said: “Don’t mind the screaming sometimes. I’m glad the Duke is sponsoring Lekeelekee while we are talking about Google and external interference in our affairs.

“We will run with the stick with you and say ‘Nigeria we hail thee.’ We will survive the challenges.”

The President urged Nigeria’s media industry to help deepen the country’s federal system by shifting greater attention to the activities of state and local governments, insisting that development must be driven at all tiers of governance.

The President called on the media to also demand accountability, development and service from other tiers of government, saying the federal government reform policies have made more funds available to the federating units.

Addressing media executives and editors, Tinubu said the recent reforms that guarantee direct funding for local governments have created a new opportunity for grassroots development, adding that the press must play a critical role in ensuring accountability at that level.

“We’ve opened up the principle of federalism to the extent that local governments are now getting their money. But how they use it is in your hands. Don’t bombard me alone; look out to the local government too”, the President said.

He added that state governments are also benefiting from improved fiscal space and must be scrutinised accordingly.

“Equally the sub-nationals are enjoying the freedom. Today, no state is borrowing to pay the salaries of employees,” he said.

The President stressed that governance and national progress require collective responsibility among leaders, institutions, and citizens, noting that the media remains an indispensable partner in nation-building.

“We can complain that it is not enough. We can complain we are not where we should be, but we have to manage what we have to sustain today, survive tomorrow and make progress. It is a collective responsibility for you, me, and those people that we assign”, Tinubu said.

The President acknowledged the challenging operating environment facing media organisations but commended journalists and publishers for their role in informing and educating the public.

“There is no morning that I leave my house without going through the papers,” he said, describing newspaper reading as an “addiction” that keeps him abreast of national developments.

Tinubu also reflected on the early criticisms that greeted some of his administration’s major economic reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidy, explaining that difficult decisions were necessary to prevent economic collapse.

“At the time, we had to confront the subsidy; Nigeria was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Leadership comes with the responsibility of making decisions when they ought to be taken; otherwise, it is a failure”, he said.

The President said that despite the initial hardships that followed the reforms, the country has begun to stabilise economically.

“Today I can stand proudly before you that we are back from that brink,” he said, recalling a period when Nigeria struggled with soaring inflation, exchange rate instability and debts owed to international airlines.

Tinubu promised to address tariffs on newspaper and broadcasting materials to empower the media industry to discharge its constitutional role effectively.

He commended the media owners, editors, and journalists for their commitment to informing, educating and keeping citizens abreast of developments, as well as providing employment and livelihoods for thousands of Nigerians.

The President said responsible leadership must take appropriate decisions at the right time, adding that anything to the contrary amounted to failure. He acknowledged the hard but critical decisions his administration had to take to save the nation from bankruptcy.

“Leadership must, as a matter of responsibility, make decisions at the best time. Yes, I accepted my predecessor’s assets and liabilities because I applied for the job and was given the job. So I have to do it. But if anybody tells you it’s easy, it’s a lie. I thank you for your criticism at the beginning of the administration. You challenged me. Thank you for inspiring and challenging me at a critical moment in my life.

“But having asked for the job and got it, I can’t look back other than to make corrections as I move along. We had to save the nation and bring it back from the brink. Can you imagine a nation that owes airlines for ticket reimbursements and faces galloping exchange rates and inflation?

“Today, I can stand proudly before you and say that we are back from the brink”, he further stated.

On the requests for his intervention on tariffs affecting the media industry, Tinubu said: “We discussed issues of tariffs this afternoon. What I cannot report back here is whether I took action in the areas that affect you. But if I missed that, I will go back to rectifying whatever was necessary.”

He commended the media for its constructive remarks and criticisms, adding that as an ardent reader of Nigerian newspapers, he accepted all in good faith since “all of us want the best for this nation.”

Grand Patron of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Olusegun Osoba, commended Tinubu for the bold steps his administration has taken, introducing transformative policies geared towards transforming the nation’s economy.

Osoba lauded the establishment of the Nigeria Revenue Service and the National Single Window policy, both of which are capable of increasing the nation’s revenue profile.

He lauded the President for charging the governors to ensure that the resources they receive through the monthly federal allocation are used to improve the lives of citizens at the grassroots.

Publisher of BusinessDay newspapers, Mr Frank Aigbogun, who spoke on behalf of the Nigeria Press Organisation, of which he is the president, commended Tinubu for maintaining his longstanding cordial relationship with the media and sought the President’s intervention on

import tariffs on newsprint and broadcast equipment.

Aigbogun also called on the federal government to intervene to protect the jobs of journalists in Nigeria and the industry as a whole from big tech companies that use editorial content sourced from Nigerian media without compensation.

Earlier, Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said the Tinubu’s administration recognises the critical role of the media in sustaining democracy and national development.

He disclosed that the federal government has already begun engagement with major technology companies such as Meta and Google over their impact on Nigeria’s media industry.

“All the regulatory agencies are already engaging the big tech, Meta and Google. The President will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy and go away”, the minister said.

Idris also assured media leaders that the administration remains firmly committed to press freedom.

“At no time has the President ever called me to say go and do this or go and do that to the press. He is himself a product of press freedom”, he said.

The minister noted that government initiatives such as the student loan scheme, improved foreign reserves and stabilising economic indicators demonstrate progress under the current administration and require sustained public understanding and engagement. (This Day)