The Nigerian media will on Monday inaugurate a nine-member board of the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC), according to a statement released by the president of the Nigerian Press Organisation.
The inauguration of NMCC, otherwise known as the National Ombudsman, aims to strengthen public confidence in the media as a credible barometer of public opinion, according to the statement signed by Kabiru Yusuf, who is also the president of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria.
Members of the commission who are drawn from the media, the bar, the academia and civil society are Mr. Emeka Izeze (FNGE), former managing director; Guardian Newspapers (chairman), Mr. A. B Mahmoud (SAN, OON), former president of the Nigerian Bar Association; Prof Chinyere Stella Okunna, deputy vice chancellor, (Academics) Paul University, Awka, Anambra State; Dr. Hussain Abdu, a development specialist and country director, Care International (Nigeria); Mr. Lanre Idowu (FNGE), editor-in-chief, Diamond Publications Ltd and founder, Diamond Awards For Media Excellence (DAME); Mr. Edetaen Ojo, executive director, Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Mrs. Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo (FNGE), a journalist, lawyer and arbitrator; Mrs. Eugenia Abu, broadcaster, author and columnist and the chair, House of Representatives Committee on Information.
Yusuf described the inauguration as 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.
He said; ‘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), the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), 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.
“The commission 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 right of the people to know.
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.
