Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Femi Soneye, has called on government support and tax relief for the Nigerian media.
Soneye made the call on Tuesday while receiving the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Federal Capital Territory Council’s Excellence in Corporate Communications award.
Soneye highlighted challenges confronting the industry, and called on the government to provide relief in form of tax incentives and waivers on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure.
“The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges—financial, political, legal and technological—that weaken its effectiveness. The government can play a supportive role by granting tax incentives or relief on import duties for newsprint, broadcast equipment, and digital infrastructure,” he said.
He also called on the Federal Government to establish an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community radio, and newsroom innovation.
Soneye call is in line with repeated appeals by media stakeholders, including the Nigerian Guild of Editors, for President Bola Tinubu to intervene to save the industry amid the country’s economic hardship.
At the All Nigerian Editors Conference held recently in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, NGE President, Anaba Eze, identified scarcity of resource materials as one of the biggest challenges to media survival in Nigeria.
“Media organisations face mounting pressure to adapt to modern trends while staying financially viable and maintaining journalistic integrity. The biggest threat to media survival today is the availability of resource materials to produce our papers or broadcast on our TV stations,” Anaba said.
Further, at the third edition of the Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture, organised by the NGE, stakeholders appealed to the government to grant direct and indirect subsidies to support the media, highlighting instances in some countries, where allowances for journalists are either untaxed or significantly reduced.
Meanwhile, Chairperson of the NUJ FCT Council, Grace Ike, during the event, described Soneye as a consummate communications professional who has consistently advocated for a stronger, sustainable and independent Nigerian media, noting that these qualities are part of the reasons he was honoured in the event.
