The Nigerian media is set to inaugurate the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC) on Monday. This move is aimed at boosting public trust in the media as a reliable reflection of public opinion. The NMCC will consist of nine members and is also referred to as the National Ombudsman.
The process is being driven by the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO,) comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), and the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), along with other strategic media players and the civil society, in particular the MacArthur Foundation.
Kabiru Yusuf, Newspaper Proprietors ‘ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) in a statement said: “The inauguration is a major step by the industry to strengthen public confidence in the media through prompt resolution of issues bordering on ethical breaches in media content.
“NMCC will serve as an independent forum for resolving complaints about the press quickly, fairly, and free of charge; maintain high standards of Nigerian Journalism and journalistic ethics; and defend the freedom of the press and the rights of the people to know.”
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Yusuf also said that the commission’s members are from the media, the bar, the academia, and civil society, including Emeka Izeze, the former managing director of Guardian Newspapers who will serve as Chairman. There’s also Abubakar Mahmoud, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, and Chinyere Stella Okunna, the deputy Vice Chancellor of Paul University in Anambra State. Other members are Hussain Abdu, a development Specialist and country director at Care International (Nigeria); Lanre Idowu, editor-in-chief of Diamond Publications Ltd. and founder of the Diamond Awards For Media Excellence (DAME); Edetaen Ojo, the executive director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, a Journalist, Lawyer and Arbitrator; Eugenia Abu, a Broadcaster, Author, and Columnist, and the Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Information.
Prior to the February 22, 2023 announcement of the composition of the commission, each media house had been directed to institute at the newspaper level, the local Ombudsman. “The National Ombudsman will serve as an appellate body for the local Ombudsman as well as a court of first instance,” the statement read in part.
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