The Nigerian Press Organization has made a strategic appeal to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to act now and preserve the countrys information sovereignty in the face of external influence from unregulated digital platforms.
The NPO, comprising the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), respectfully submitted this position in the public interest, not as private advocacy.
“Nigeria is approaching a critical inflexion point in its democratic and digital evolution. Decisions taken now by the Presidency and the National Assembly will shape not only the future of journalism but also the strength of Nigeria’s social cohesion, national security, and democratic governance in the decades ahead,” the NPO said in a statement signed by officials of the respective organizations, Mrs Maiden Alex- Ibru for NPAN, Eze Anaba for NGE, Comrade Yahaya Alhassan for NUJ, Danladi Nmodu for GOCOP and Salihu Dembos for BON
“The question before the Nigerian state is clear: can a democracy of Nigeria’s scale, diversity, and complexity afford to surrender control of its information ecosystem to unregulated global digital gatekeepers?
According to them, the strategic nature of the threat arises from the rapid rise of global digital platforms which has fundamentally altered Nigeria’s information environment.
They said that while these platforms have expanded access and innovation, they have also created a structural imbalance of power that now threatens the sustainability of professional journalism – the backbone of informed citizenship and accountable governance.
Today global platforms dominate digital advertising markets, algorithms controlled outside Nigeria determine what Nigerians see, amplify, or ignore
Nigerian news content is monetised at scale without proportionate reinvestment in local journalism. Revenue that once sustained domestic newsrooms is increasingly extracted offshore.
“This is not a conventional market disruption. It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.”
They maintained that this looming threat is a matter of national security and social stability whose the consequences extend far beyond media economics to include social cohesion and internal security.
“In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious federation, credible journalism plays a stabilising role. When trusted news institutions weaken, misinformation, disinformation, and digitally manipulated narratives expand unchecked, fueling polarisation, grievance mobilisation, and insecurity.
“No counterterrorism, policing, or intelligence framework can fully compensate for a collapsed information order.
Democratic governance and electoral integrity, they contended is at stake as
elections, public accountability, and citizen participation depend on reliable information.
“When professional journalism is displaced by algorithmic virality, democratic processes become vulnerable to distortion, foreign influence, and coordinated false hoods, press freedom through economic viability fails as economic independence is threatened even in the face of constitutional guarantees. It requires economic independence.
“A press that struggles to pay salaries, fund investigations, and continues to face the headwinds of rising production costs and the challenge of retaining talent is, in effect, unfree, regardless of legal protection
“The erosion of journalism revenue is already translating into newsroom contraction, job losses, and declining professional standards. This represents a loss of skilled labour, institutional memory, and national capacity that cannot be easily rebuilt.
“Professional journalism is not merely a commercial activity. It is strategic civic infrastructure, comparable in importance to education, public health, and the judiciary.
“Its outputs – verified facts, investigative scrutiny, balanced reporting – are public goods. Yet the current digital market structure allows global platforms to extract disproportionate value from this public good while weakening its producers.
“This asymmetry undermines the long-term resilience of Nigeria’s information ecosystem.
Drawing from experiences of democratic countries who have acted proactively against the imminent challenges in the European Union, South Africa, Australia and Canada, they urged the Federal Government adopt proactive competition and digital market rules to curb gatekeeper dominance.
These actions demonstrate a clear global consensus: sovereign states must protect the integrity of their information systems.
NPO respectfully urged the Presidency and the National Assembly to adopt a measured, Nigerian-designed framework – whether through existing digital legislation or targeted amendments – that:
Recognises journalism as a public-interest activity;
Corrects extreme bargaining power imbalances;
Ensures fair remuneration for Nigerian news content;
Preserves innovation, competition, and consumer choice;
“Nigeria already has capable institutions – the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) – with statutory authority to enforce proportionate remedies, including penalties for abuse of dominance and for refusal to negotiate in good faith
“This appeal is not a request for protectionism. It is a call for strategic leadership to ensure that Nigeria’s democratic conversation is not quietly outsourced to opaque commercial algorithms beyond national control.
“The cost of inaction will not be borne solely by publishers, broadcasters or journalists. It will be paid in weakened institutions, diminished public trust, rising misinformation, and a more fragile national cohesion.
“Protecting the Nigerian press is not an industry rescue – it is an investment in national stability, democratic durability, and Nigeria’s standing as a serious constitutional democracy.
“NPO stands ready to collaborate with the Federal Government, the National Assembly, regulators, broadcasters, editors, civil society, and technology companies to design a fair, forward-looking, and Nigerian solution.”
