The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu has revealed before the National Assembly yesterday that the Social Media bill was a necessity.
Shehu made this statement while presenting a paper on “Media and Democracy: Challenges of Journalism” during the 2020 annual lecture of the Abuja Branch of the Barewa Old Boys Association.
The Presidential spokesperson reiterated yesterday as reported by, Attah Esa, a Deputy Director in the Department of information, State House, the media should be held accountable for misinformation capable of causing a devastating consequence on the national security, the economy as well as the individuals.
He posited that any attempt by the authorities to hold the media accountable or punish libellous publication shouldn’t be seen by Nigerians as an attack on journalism and freedom of the press.
Shehu added that though the Social Media has made the duties of the traditional media complex one, but warned that recklessness always has consequences.
The spokesperson is a veteran journalist with over three decades of practising posited that social media is a powerful tool for people-oriented governance.
However, he advocated for better remuneration for the journalist in the country urging that the backlog of unpaid salaries makes the media practitioners vulnerable to corruption.