In the wake of widespread criticism over the attempt to muzzle the media, the Presidency on Wednesday refuted claims that President Muhammadu Buhari spearheaded the campaign.
According to a statement issued by Femi Adesina, a Presidential aide, the President has nothing to do with the ongoing attempt by the House of Representatives to amend the Nigerian Press Council (NPC) Act and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Act.
He made this clarification while fielding questions from State House reporters after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
Adesina further noted that only the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, could speak on the matter.
When asked to comment on the issue, Adesina said: “That’s not strictly a Presidency thing because the president has nothing to do with that. It’s a government thing and it’s the Minister that can talk about it. So, thank you.”
The aide also explained that the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, was studying the ruling issued by the ECOWAS Court over the suspension of Twitter services in the country.
Ripples Nigeria had reported that the ECOWAS Court ruled that Twitter users cannot be arrested or prosecuted following the suspension of the activities of the microblogging site in the country.