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President Bola Tinubu has described himself as “an apostle of a free press,” saying he has defended and advocated for media rights throughout his public life, as he addressed the maiden State House Media Corps Presidential Dinner on Thursday.
“I am an apostle of a free press. I have defended and advocated for the rights of the media throughout my public life and will continue to do so,” Tinubu said.
“While press freedom and free speech remain the bedrock of an open and democratic society, journalists and citizens must also not forget the imperative of balancing rights with responsibility and the duty you hold to society to report and inform with care and accuracy to facts and in a manner that ensures the society is not set on fire.
“Democracy is stymied without a free press. The fourth estate of the realm must be a free estate, and not a fief. However, where there is enormous power, there should be accountability and responsibility. The ethics of the profession must be considered sacred and upheld by practitioners.”
Speaking at the event, Tinubu urged Nigerian journalists to choose “substance over sensation” and “credibility over clickbait.”
“The media must choose fact over falsehood. The media must choose substance over sensation. The media must choose credibility over clickbait and the endless race for followers, likes, and viral outrage,” he said.
President Tinubu: We must not undermine our country with irresponsible reporting. If we do, we will have no safe space left, especially at a time when our nation is tackling security threats, neutralizing thousands of criminal elements, and rescuing hostages. The media should not… pic.twitter.com/q2zkdLfIqO
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) July 2, 2026
Tinubu acknowledged the tension inherent in the relationship between government and the media, describing them as “adversaries only in the democratic sense.”
“Government exists to serve the people through leadership, policy, and public service. The media exists to serve society by watching those entrusted with power, asking difficult questions, and holding government accountable,” he said.
“The Nigerian people have deliberately assigned us these roles. Government must act. The media must watch. Government must explain. The media must question. That arrangement guarantees a certain level of tension. It ensures that we are constantly at each other’s throats—not because we dislike one another, but because democracy demands it.”
He said his courtship with the media had lasted more than three decades. “The only difference is that I now find myself on the receiving end of the headlines,” he said.
Tinubu also cautioned against the spread of misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes, which he described as “drawbacks of the social media age.”
“The recurring incidents of misinformation, disinformation, fake news, voice and facial cloning and deep fakes are concerning. Media practitioners should not be willing couriers of falsehood or unverified information injurious to national security and the nation,” he said.
He said rights come with responsibilities, adding: “Freedom of expression is not freedom to defame. Freedom of the press is not freedom to deliberately mislead.”
President Tinubu’s advice to Nigeria’s media: Choose between substance or sensation, credibility or clickbait
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR, AT THE MAIDEN STATE HOUSE MEDIA DINNER (SHMD), STATE HOUSE, ABUJA, on Thursday, 2 July 2026
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— Bayo Onanuga, OON, CON (@aonanuga1956) July 2, 2026
