Zamfara State government has issued a directive that all state officials, including heads of agencies and public office holders, must get Ministry of Information permission before granting media interviews.
This includes issuing statements and airing programmes on TV, radio, and social media. However, the state government warned media organisations to avoid conducting these interviews without state approval.
The Commissioner of Information, Mannir Haidara, in a statement, expressed that the information ministry is highly committed to ensuring compliance of all TV and radio stations in the state.
Haidara also noted that the interviews are mainly conducted without following the proper channels.
In part, the statement further reads:
To checkmate this behaviour, the Zamfara state Ministry of Information and Culture has decided to ban political office holders, groups or heads of any agencies from conducting any interview, issuing a statement or airing a programme on radio, television stations or social media without seeking permission from the authority.
Moreover, the Ministry of Information and Culture is at this moment calling on the media organisations based in the state to desist from conducting or airing any radio or television programmes on the government’s policies for any individuals or group of people without the approval of the supervising Ministry or the Ministry of Information.
Meanwhile, the recent directive of the state government remains ignorant of press freedom in Nigeria.
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