House of Reps Decries Removal of Nigerian Press Council from Budget

The House of Representatives has expressed worry over the non-payment of salary to the staff of the Nigerian Press Council, NPC, since January this year.

Chairman, House Committee on Information, National Orientation, Ethics and Values, Mr. Fatoba Olusola, gave the position of the House on the matter when his committee paid an oversight visit to the council's headquarters in Abuja.

Olusola, who learnt the development was due to the removal of the council from the national budget, noted his committee would do everything possible to empower the agency to effectively perform her statutory functions.

He added that his committee would equally revisit the enabling act to see what could be amended to enhance the council's operations.

Describing the removal of the NPC from the budget as unacceptable, he faulted the idea of leaving both staff salary and overhead out of the budget.

He however, commended the management and staff of the council for their resilience, attributing it to their love of the country and their job.

Mr. Olusola also expressed delight at the reforms taking place in the council, even at a time of financial draught, especially the creation of a marketing department and the efforts to develop a fact-checking app to contain misinformation and disinformation on the social media.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Press Council, Dr. Dili Ezughah, informed the committee members that the staff of the agency were going through a very difficult time as a result of the non-payment of salary for the past four months.

Dr. Ezughah attributed the situation to an error by those who wrongly classified the NPC as a professional body, instead of the regulatory agency that it is.

He remarked that the error needed to be redressed with the urgency it deserved; and appealed to the committee to do everything within its powers to get the council into this year's supplementary budget.