Editors ask FG to waive duties on news inputs for media survival

For the survival of the media industry which is imperative under democracy for dissemination of information, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has urged the Federal Government to waive import duties on all news media inputs especially on newsprint and broadcast equipment.

The standing committee of the NGE rose from its meeting weekend with concern over the difficult environment under which the Nigerian media operate.

The guild is worried that the media is operating under severe economic conditions largely due to the fact that most of the inputs used in the industry are imported and are therefore subjected to the vagaries of foreign exchange.

It believed that the government could give operators in the media industry some of which are presently trimming its workforce while others are owing backlog of salaries some life if it waives import duties on its inputs.

In a communiqué signed by the president of the guild, Femi Adesina, the guild also noted with dismay the recent conduct of some political leaders which has the tendency to derail the country’s hard-earned democracy.

The body, therefore, urged political leaders to conduct themselves in a manner that will engender the highest democratic ideals.

On the re-arraignment of two journalists of the Leadership Newspapers, the editors noted that on “May 4, 2013 (World Press Freedom Day), the Federal Government withdrew the case against the two journalists”, and the body is therefore of the position that the consideration that made the Federal Government to withdraw the case in the first instance should subsist.

The guild is also displeased that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff of Polytechnics (ASUP) went on strike again over non-implementation of agreements by the Federal Government.

The guild urged all parties involved to return to the negotiation table to resolve all outstanding issues in the interest of students who are future leaders of the nation.

The guild also noted the efforts by certain groups to revive some provisions of the Nigerian Press Council which a competent court of law had voided. It urged that the judgement of the court in this regard should be respected by all concerned “lest it become tantamount to an attempt to gag the media”.