ABUJA — At a high-powered interfaith dinner held on Friday, March 13, 2026, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu formally designated the Nigerian press as an “indispensable partner” in the nation’s quest for economic stability. Addressing a delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), the President vowed to dismantle the fiscal barriers and the emerging threat of “digital cannibalisation” currently strangling the local media industry.
This engagement signals a major policy shift, as the government moves to treat media production materials with the same strategic priority as educational and research resources.
The Fiscal Intervention: Tariff Exemptions
Recognizing the skyrocketing costs of production that have forced many print titles to thin out or shut down, the President announced a review of the national tariff exemption list.
Proposed Tariff Relief (5–10% reduction to 0%):
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Newsprint: The primary raw material for newspapers.
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Printing Plates & Chemicals: Essential for high-volume press runs.
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Broadcast Equipment: Radio and television hardware for both private and state-owned (NTA) stations.
The Battle Against Big Tech Dominance
The meeting highlighted a growing friction between traditional media and global tech giants. Mr. Frank Aigbogun (Publisher of BusinessDay) delivered a stinging critique of “Big Tech,” accusing them of anti-competitive practices that drain at least 70% of local media revenue.
Key Industry Grievances:
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Content Scraping: Tech companies using proprietary news content to train AI models without permission or compensation.
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Paywall Breaching: Circumventing digital subscriptions to serve free content on third-party platforms.
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Revenue Diversion: Offshore extraction of advertising spend that previously sustained Nigerian newsrooms.
Government Response: Investigating the “Gatekeepers”
In response to these concerns, the President signaled his support for a formal investigation by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). Simultaneously, Minister of Information Alhaji Mohammed Idris confirmed that the administration is already in direct talks with Google and Meta.
“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Idris noted, echoing the sentiment that global platforms must provide a “fair deal” to the local creators they rely on.
A “Who’s Who” of Nigerian Media
The dinner served as a rare assembly of Nigeria’s media titans, underscoring the gravity of the sector’s current crisis.
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Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru (The Guardian) led the delegation.
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John Momoh (Channels TV) and Prince Nduka Obaigbena (THISDAY/ARISE) represented the broadcast and digital powerhouses.
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Aremo Olusegun Osoba (Vanguard) and Sam Amuka (Vanguard) provided veteran institutional memory.
