President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured the Nigerian media industry of his administration’s support in tackling the growing influence of global technology companies and the economic challenges affecting local media organisations.
Speaking during an interfaith dinner at the State House with a delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), the president described the media as an “indispensable partner” in Nigeria’s pursuit of economic stability, press freedom, and social cohesion.
The delegation was led by NPO President and publisher of The Guardian Nigeria, Maiden Alex-Ibru, and included several prominent media leaders. Among them were veteran journalist Olusegun Osoba, Sam Amuka of Vanguard Newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena of THISDAY Newspaper and Arise News, John Momoh of Channels Television, and Ray Ekpu, among others.
During the meeting, Tinubu said the government was willing to support evidence-based efforts by the media to address issues such as Big Tech dominance, anti-competitive practices, and what he described as “digital cannibalisation” threatening the survival of traditional media outlets.
He also revealed that the government is reviewing the country’s tariff exemption list and may include materials used by the media industry. Items such as newsprint, printing plates, chemicals, and broadcast equipment—currently subject to tariffs of between 5 and 10 percent—could receive exemptions similar to those granted to educational and research materials.
According to a statement by Segun Adediran, Chief Executive Officer of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, the move could ease the financial pressure facing many media organisations.
The media industry has been grappling with rising costs of production and declining revenues. During the meeting, Deputy President of NPAN and publisher of BusinessDay Newspaper, Frank Aigbogun, raised concerns about global technology companies allegedly using proprietary media content to train artificial intelligence models.
Aigbogun claimed that some companies scrape content behind paywalls, depriving local publishers of significant revenue. He urged the government to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to investigate the matter, noting that such practices could be costing the Nigerian media industry up to 70 percent of its legitimate income.
Also speaking at the event, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, said the government had already begun engaging major technology firms such as Meta and Google on the issue.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris said.
The meeting was attended by several senior government officials, including Vice President Kashim Shettima, along with top media executives and representatives of civil society groups.
The engagement follows earlier complaints by the NPO about the growing threat posed by Big Tech operations to the sustainability of Nigeria’s local media industry.
