Tinubu Big Tech dominance media support pledge promises policy backing for Nigerian media facing digital disruption and economic pressure

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged that the Federal Government will support the Nigerian media’s evidence-led campaign against the dominance of global technology firms, warning that anti-competitive practices and digital disruption are threatening the survival of local media organisations.

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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the assurance on Friday at the State House during an interfaith dinner with a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation led by its president and publisher of The Guardian Nigeria, Lady Maiden Alex‑Ibru.

The President described the press as an indispensable partner in Nigeria’s journey towards economic stability, press freedom and social cohesion.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said his administration was ready to dismantle fiscal obstacles and what he described as digital cannibalisation that currently undermines the sustainability of local media organisations.

“You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy,” President Bola Ahmed Tinubu told the delegation.

The meeting brought together prominent figures in Nigeria’s media industry, including veteran journalist and publisher Olusegun Osoba of Vanguard Newspaper Nigeria, media proprietor Sam Amuka-Pemu of THISDAY Newspaper and Arise News, and media entrepreneur Nduka Obaigbena.

Also present were the Chairman of Channels Television, John Momoh; the Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority, Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos;

former president of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria, Ray Ekpu; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, Eze Anaba;

President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Danlami Nmodu; and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu also revealed that the Federal Government is reviewing its tariff exemption list and may include media production materials such as newsprint, printing plates, chemicals and broadcast equipment.

According to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the review could reduce or remove the current tariffs of between five and ten per cent on such items, potentially granting them the same status as educational and research materials.

Industry leaders said the move could provide significant relief to media organisations grappling with soaring production costs.

Earlier, Deputy President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and publisher of BusinessDay Nigeria, Frank Aigbogun, accused major technology firms of exploiting media content.

Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Press Organisation, Frank Aigbogun said some global technology companies were increasingly scraping proprietary editorial content to train artificial intelligence systems, often bypassing digital paywalls.

Frank Aigbogun urged the government to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to work with the media industry in investigating allegations that Big Tech dominance and anti-competitive practices are costing local media as much as 70 per cent of legitimate revenue.

According to the industry estimate cited at the meeting, the financial losses run into hundreds of millions of dollars annually and have contributed to widespread job losses in the sector.

Before the President’s response, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris Malagi, said the government had already begun engaging major technology companies such as Meta Platforms and Google.

“The government will not allow anybody to come here, reap from our economy, and go away without giving back,” Mohammed Idris Malagi said.

Among other dignitaries present at the meeting was Vice President Kashim Shettima, alongside senior aides and advisers to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

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The intervention followed an earlier move by the Nigerian Press Organisation, which in January formally wrote to the Federal Government warning that the operations of Big Tech companies posed what it described as an existential threat to Nigeria’s local media ecosystem.