The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris and the United States’ (U.S.) Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Richard Mills have declared their commitment to press freedom in Nigeria and Africa.
They made this known when Mills and his team paid a courtesy visit to Idris on Wednesday in Abuja.
“I am here today to have a very good conversation about many things we are doing together.
“We have trade relations and our cooperation is very strong. We want to make sure we fulfill them.
“We also know that the minister is doing a good job to ensure press freedom in this country; its about journalists’ rights.
“We talked about how we can work together and strengthen freedom of the press in Nigeria, Africa and the world,” Mills said.
According to him, many democratic countries are facing issues of disinformation, misinformation and fake news.
While emphasising his commitment to press freedom, Mills added: “That is why I am here with my team, and it was a good discussion with the minister.”
Responding, Idris too said he had a useful discussion with Mills, especially in the area of press freedom and responsible journalism.
“The ambassador talked about issues that he thinks we need to address and improve upon.
“I gave him assurance of what we are doing and he recognises the fact that the Nigerian press is not just free but the freest in the world.
“We are making sure that all of us enjoy press freedom and by the way, it is an important part of any viable democracy.
“I have given him the Federal Government’s commitment to press freedom and that we will continue to work and ensure that the Nigerian press becomes even freer,” Idris said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mills was accompanied by the U.S. Embassy’s Public Diplomacy Counselor, Mr Lee McManis, as well as the spokesperson and Press Attaché, Mr Gilbert Morton.
Idris was accompanied by the Director-General, National Orientation Agency, Malam Lanre Issa-Onilu and the Director-General, Voice of Nigeria, Malam Jibrin Baba-Ndace.
Also in attendance was the Special Assistant on Media to Idris, Malam Rabiu Ibrahim.
