By Olawale Lamina
The Democratic Front, TDF, has expressed grave disappointment and vented its discontent over what it described as “annoyingly unprofessional reportage of the Daily Trust Newspaper on the legal framework for cooperation between the OACPS and the European Union, popularly known as the Samoa Agreement, which was signed by Nigeria in Brussels on 23rd of June 2024.”
The group condemned the published content in the Daily Trust Newspaper, and alleged that the publication carelessly imported the personal opinions of its editors on the Samoa Agreement and reported same to the public as a news item.
DTF, in a statement emphasized that the newspaper “deviated from topflight professional pursuit of credible and fact-based Journalism, to deliberately misleading and misinforming its readers with a self-concocted and fallacious importation of Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, Transgender Queer(LGBTQ) clause into the sanctity of the Samoa Agreement that was signed by Nigeria.”
Continuing, the group also alleged that the Daily Trust Newspaper was in a haste to spread misleading information on the Samoa Agreement to the public space without careful investigation as required in ethical journalism and concluded that the said publication smacked of an “attempt to tannish the image of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Federal Government and to cause political dissaffection, religious uproar and pandemonium in the country.”
It called on the Federal Government to make good its threat of legal action against the Daily Trust Newspaper, “to serve as deterrence to potential practitioners who may want to undermine the profession of Journalism in Nigeria going forward.”
The group therefore, advised the Tinubu-lec administration to maintain focus on the $150 billion deal contained in the Samoa Agreement, which it noted was to ensure increased food security and enhance development in key sectors of the Nigerian economy.
It observed further that, “an economy that is undergoing fundamental reforms like that of Nigeria cannot close its eyes or shut its doors to opportunities offered by international cooperations like the Samoa Agreement,” while at the same time calling on the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), “to step up its efforts to improve the level of compliance and adherence to professional ethics and principles by journalists in the country.
The embarrassment created by the Daily Trust Newspaper report on the Samoa Agreement is appalling, the NUJ should ensure that those involved in that show of shame are reprimanded and if need be, retrained to become professional journalists.”
The pro-democracy organization stressed that, “…there is no ambiguity or equivocation that suggested the adoption of LGBTQ in the articles of the Samoa Agreement as signed by Nigeria.
“It was simply a confusion triggered by some practitioners of lazy and irresponsible journalism.
The Nigerian Anti-Gay laws firmly confirms the nation’s Anti-LGBTQ status, and we strongly have faith in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s unflinching resolve to continue to defend the Nigeria Constitution, as required by his oath of office.
Reaction by Daily Trust Newspaper
Meanwhile, few days ago, the Management of Media Trust Group, owners of Daily Trust Newspaper responded to the threat of legal action against the publication by the federal government over its reportage of the Samoa Agreement.
in a reaction tagged: Report on Samoa Agreement: Our position, signed by Maryam Aminu Bello, Esq, the Company Secretary/Legal Adviser, Media Trust Group, the newspaper said, “Two ministers of government, and other sundry commentators have taken us to the cleaners over our story on the Samoa Agreement in particular, and some other reports published earlier.
“We have followed with attention what these government officials said, and left unsaid, and we will publish that in full, for the records. We have also acknowledged lapses in our reporting on this particular matter, pointed out to us by professional colleagues, and we will review and take appropriate measures.
“As our editors understood it, the Samoa Agreement signed by Nigeria has expanded the definition of gender rights, from the traditional male-female, to a new norm, captured by the term LGBTQ (Lesbian; Bi-sexual, Gay, Transgender and Queer). That is the crux of the matter.
“If the agreement does not aim at promoting such new orientation, widely accepted in Western countries, then we are wrong in our interpretation. We will readily apologise both to the government and to the public for crying wolf,” among other defense put up by the publication.
“
About The Author
