Media owners inaugurate complaints commission for resolution of ethical breaches

The Nigerian media owners under the auspices of the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO) have inaugurated the National Media Complaints Commission (NMCC).

The commission, comprising members from the media, academics, legal practice, and civil society, is created to regulate the practice of the media.

In a statement on Monday, Kabiru Yusuf, president of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nige­ria (NPAN), said the inauguration was a major step by the industry to strengthen public confidence in the media through a prompt resolution of issues bordering on ethical breaches.

Yusuf said the creation of the commission was driven by the Nigeria Press Organisation (NPO,) comprising the NPAN, Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), other stra­tegic media players and the civil society, in particular, the MacAr­thur foundation.

Members of the commission include Emeka Izeze, former managing di­rector of Guardian Newspapers; A. B Mahmoud, former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA); Chinyere Okunna, deputy vice-chancellor of Paul University; Hussain Abdu, a development specialist and country director of care in­ternational; Lanre Idowu, founder of Diamond Awards For Media Excellence (DAME); Edetaen Ojo, executive director of Media Rights Agenda (MRA); Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo, a journalist and lawyer and Eugenia Abu, a broadcast journalist.