Tariff Relief: Tinubu backs Nigerian media’s push for fair revenue from Big Techs

*President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assures media executives of his administration’s support to dismantle the fiscal hurdles and ‘digital cannibalisation’ currently threatening the survival of the press in Nigeria

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pledged his administration’s support for the evidence-led campaign by the country’s media against Big Tech dominance, anti-competitive activities, and the harsh economic headwinds affecting the local media.

Tinubu described the press as an “indispensable partner” in the country’s journey towards economic stability, press freedom, and social cohesion.

ConsumerConnect reports President Tinubu, at a meeting Friday, March  2026, in the State House, FCT, said his government would help to dismantle the fiscal hurdles and “digital cannibalisation” currently threatening the survival of the press in Nigeria.

The President gave this assurance during an interfaith dinner with a high-level delegation from the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), led by the NPO President and Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru.

The delegation also included industry leaders and patrons, among them Aremo Olusegun Osoba; Publisher of Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu, Chairman of THISDAY/ARISE News Channel, Prince Nduka Obaigbena; Chairman of Channels Television, Dr. John Momoh; Director-General of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Alhaji Saliu Abdulhamid Dembos; former NPAN President and veteran journalist, Mr. Ray Ekpu; President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mr. Eze Anaba; President of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), Mr. Danlami Nmodu; and President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Alhassan Yahya Abdullahi, among others.

Also present were all Executive members of NPAN, Managing Directors of media houses, top media practitioners across all platforms, and representatives of civil society.

President Tinubu said his government was already reviewing the tariff exemption list, and would consider the inclusion of the items used by the media.

These include newsprint, plates, chemicals, and radio and television broadcast equipment, which currently attract tariffs of five to 10 percent.

If this happens, these items would enjoy a status similar to that of educational and research materials.

With the media industry reeling from skyrocketing newsprint and equipment costs, President Tinubu signalled his administration’s readiness to intervene by reviewing tariffs.

Segun Adediran, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NPAN, in a statement, quoted Tinubu to have said: “You have the government’s full support, because we know how important your work is to the sustenance of democracy.”

The statement also noted the Deputy President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and Publisher of BusinessDay, Mr Frank Aigbogun, in a speech delivered on behalf of the NPO, had accused some tech companies of increasingly “scraping” proprietary creative content to train AI models, often by breaching digital paywalls.

Aigbogun requested President Tinubu to direct the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to work with the media to investigate complaints that Big Tech dominance and anti-competitive practices were costing local media at least 70 percent of its legitimate income, estimated by some sources at hundreds of millions of Dollars.

This is besides the loss of jobs, and other opportunities.

Before the President’s response, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, Honourable Minister for Information and National Orientation, had said the Federal Government already began “engaging Big Tech” companies, including Meta and Google in this regard.

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

Among other dignitaries present at the meeting were Vice-President Kashim Shettima, as well as senior aides and special advisers to President Tinubu.

It is recalled that the NPO had, January this year, had written to the government, and also published a statement complaining about the “existential threat” the Big Tech operations pose to local media.

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