Tinubu promises tariff relief, support for Nigerian media

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged to review tariffs on newsprint, broadcast equipment and other materials used by media organisations in a move aimed at easing financial pressures facing the Nigerian media industry.

The President also assured media leaders of government support in addressing what they described as the growing dominance of global technology companies and their alleged anti-competitive practices in the media sector.

Tinubu made the commitment during an interfaith dinner with a delegation of the Nigerian Press Organisation at the State House in Abuja. The delegation was led by its President and publisher of The Guardian, Maiden Alex-Ibru.

A statement issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Segun Adediran, said the President acknowledged the economic challenges confronting the media sector and pledged government intervention.

“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” Tinubu told the delegation.

According to the statement, the President said the Federal Government was reviewing the tariff exemption list to include key materials used by media organisations, including newsprint, printing plates, chemicals and radio and television broadcast equipment, which currently attract tariffs ranging from five to 10 per cent.

He also pledged to address fiscal challenges and what he described as “digital cannibalisation” that threatens revenue generation and the sustainability of the press in Nigeria.

Tinubu was accompanied at the meeting by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, alongside other senior government officials.

The event brought together prominent figures in the media industry, including veteran journalist and Grand Patron of NPAN, Olusegun Osoba; publisher of Vanguard, Sam Amuka; Chairman of Arise News and ThisDay, Nduka Obaigbena; and Chairman of Channels Television, John Momoh.

Others present included the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos, as well as leaders of key media bodies such as the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigeria Union of Journalists.

Earlier, the Deputy President of NPAN and publisher of BusinessDay, Frank Aigbogun, raised concerns about the impact of global technology companies on the Nigerian media industry.

He accused some tech firms of scraping proprietary content from media platforms to train artificial intelligence models, sometimes bypassing digital paywalls.

The Nigerian Press Organisation also urged the government to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to investigate complaints that the dominance of Big Tech companies was depriving local media organisations of up to 70 per cent of their potential revenue.

According to the organisation, the revenue losses, estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, have also resulted in job losses and reduced opportunities within the sector.

In his remarks, Information Minister Idris said the government had already begun engagements with major technology firms, including Meta and Google, over their operations in Nigeria.

“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” he said.