NPO Urges Federal Government, National Assembly to Protect Nigerian Press from Global Digital Dominance
Oru Leonard
The Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), has called on the Federal Government and the National Assembly to urgently intervene to protect Nigeria’s information sovereignty, warning that the unchecked dominance of global digital platforms poses a growing threat to journalism, democracy, and national security.
In a strongly worded position statement titled “Preserving Nigeria’s Information Sovereignty: Why the Federal Government Must Act to Secure the Nigerian Press in the Digital Age,” the NPO described Nigeria as standing at a “critical inflexion point” in its democratic and digital evolution.
The umbrella body, which comprises the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), and the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), warned that decisions taken now would shape the country’s democratic stability for decades.
According to the NPO, global digital platforms now dominate Nigeria’s advertising market, control content visibility through foreign-owned algorithms, and monetise Nigerian news content without fair reinvestment in local journalism.
“This is not a conventional market disruption,” the organisation stated. “It is the emergence of private, transnational gatekeepers over public discourse, operating beyond the effective reach of national democratic accountability.”
National Security and Social Stability at Risk
The NPO argued that the weakening of professional journalism has far-reaching implications for Nigeria’s internal security and social cohesion, particularly in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society.
It warned that the decline of trusted news institutions creates fertile ground for misinformation, disinformation, and digitally manipulated narratives that fuel polarisation, insecurity, and social unrest.
On democracy, the organisation said credible journalism is essential for electoral integrity and public accountability, cautioning that algorithm-driven virality increasingly exposes Nigeria’s democratic processes to distortion and foreign influence.
The NPO also stressed that press freedom cannot survive without economic viability, noting that shrinking revenues have led to newsroom closures, job losses, and declining professional standards across the country.
Describing journalism as “strategic civic infrastructure,” the NPO likened its importance to education, public health, and the judiciary, arguing that verified information and investigative reporting are public goods that must be protected.
It noted that the current digital market structure allows global platforms to extract disproportionate value from Nigerian journalism while weakening its producers, undermining the long-term resilience of the country’s information ecosystem.
Citing reforms in the European Union, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and South Africa, the NPO said Nigeria would not be acting in isolation by introducing regulatory safeguards.
The organisation urged the Presidency and National Assembly to adopt a Nigerian-designed legal framework that recognises journalism as a public-interest activity, corrects bargaining power imbalances, and ensures fair remuneration for Nigerian news content, while preserving innovation and competition.
It pointed to existing institutions such as the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) as capable of enforcing proportionate remedies.
“A Call to Leadership, Not Alarm”
The NPO emphasised that its appeal is not a request for protectionism but a call for strategic leadership to prevent Nigeria’s democratic conversation from being outsourced to opaque commercial algorithms beyond national control.
“The cost of inaction will not be borne by publishers alone,” the statement warned, “but paid in weakened institutions, diminished public trust, rising misinformation, and fragile national cohesion.”
The organisation said it remains ready to collaborate with government, lawmakers, regulators, civil society, and technology companies to design a fair and forward-looking solution.
“The moment to act is now,” the NPO declared.
The statement was jointly signed by NPAN President, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru; NGE President, Mr. Eze Anaba; BON Chairman, Comrade Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; GOCOP President, Mr. Danlami Nmodu; and NUJ President, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya.
