•As Osoba, NUJ President urge FG to import duties on newsprint

By Olasunkanmi Akoni And Monsur Olowoopejo

Following the claim that  some Nigerians who allegedly kept  funds offshore to evade tax,  in a saga otherwise know as Panama Papers, Lagos State Governor  Akinwunmi Ambode; Oba of Lagos, Riliwanu Akiolu, and  a member of the House of Representatives, Mr. James Faleke, have tasked journalists to intensify investigative journalism.

Meantime, a  former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, and the National President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Mr. Waheed Odusile, have urged the Federal Government to reduce the import duties on newsprint, saying “this will help improve the media  industry.”

They spoke, yesterday, at the First Quarter of the National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the NUJ in Lagos which also had in attendance the Corp Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, among others.

Ambode, represented by his Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, said: “The ripples from the ‘Wiki-Leaks’ scandal were yet to abate than we were faced with the turbulence of the Panama Papers. These are attributable to investigative journalism which unmasked the veil behind actions that are considered to run against social justice, rule of law and good governance.

“Journalists are agents of change by the virtue of your profession and relevance to the society. The influence of information managers affects the way we live and do business, more importantly in the global community,”the governor said.

“It is in this light that I charge you to support the efforts of this administration by appropriately deploying your skills in helping to find solutions to some of the national challenges”.