Sen Bashiru dismisses plot to secretly pass social media bill
Senator representing Osun Central and Chairman Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Senator Ajibola Basiru has refuted claims that the Senate is looking to clandestinely pass the much-criticized Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulation and Other Related Matters Bill 2019, into law.
Sen Bashiru’s rebuttal comes in the wake of a publication by an online news medium, SaharaReporters, which published that the Senate on its resumption on September 15 has begun a secret move to pass the Bill popularly known as Social Media bill for presidential assent.
Sponsored by Senator representing Niger East, Sani Musa, the bill was unanimously rejected at the Senate Public Hearing.
Reacting to the claims by the online news platform, Senator Bashiru described the information as “false and a lie concocted by the medium to ridicule and tarnish the image of the senate.”
The lawmaker also noted that “the relevant committee of the Senate has not submitted its report for the bill to be passed at all or surreptitiously as claimed by SaharaReporters.”
He asked Nigerians to disregard what he claimed to be a false fabrication.
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The statement also reads in part: “This report is yet another example of irresponsibility taken too far as there has not been any recommendation for passage of the bill by the senate.
“By deliberately publishing falsehood, SaharaReporter is not only doing no good to the Nation but it is also shooting itself down as its recklessness and incredulity would always speak against it.
“The Senate wishes that Nigerians will be circumspect, shunning gullibility which makes them lap up those invidious write-ups and begin to comment on non-existent issues.
If some people have chosen the path of perfidy wanting to bring the nation and its sacred institutions down, Nigerians must be wary and unwilling to be led by those to believing the false fabrication.
“It should be common knowledge by all that the Senate conducts its sittings in the open and matters for consideration are well laid out and therefore, would not require anyone’s investigation to ‘dig’ out what the Senate would do.
“The relevant committee of the Senate has not submitted its report for the bill to be passed at all or surreptitiously as claimed by SaharaReporters.
“We will not allow unscrupulous writers to denigrate the Senate and ridicule the great work that is on-going.
“SaharaReporters must be afraid to see the platform where they peddle their trade of falsehood tampered with, even at that, there should be no need to lie so brazenly.”
