FG Urges US to Support Tinubu, Assures on Sanctity of Press Freedom

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has urged the US to deepen support for the Bola Tinubu administration and its effort towards the re-engineering of the Nigerian economy on the strength of the Renewed Hope Agenda.

It said the much-touted agenda focused on food security, poverty eradication, growth, job creation, access to capital, social inclusion, rule of law and the fight against corruption.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, echoed this when the US Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria, Mr. David Greene, paid him a courtesy visit.

Idris underlined Nigeria’s commitment to democracy and reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the fundamental principles of press freedom, stressing its pivotal role in fostering a vibrant democracy and transparency in governance.

“While we are for press freedom, we also want to call on the government of the United States to support efforts at instituting best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms towards reducing the spate of misinformation, fake news, and mal-information,” Idris said.

According to him, President Tinubu has since hit the ground running in his quest to attract foreign investment through his physical presence at various economic fora, engagements with business leaders and key stakeholders, first in paris, for the Summit on New Global Financing Pact, followed by the G20 Summit in India, and the recently concluded Saudi-Africa Summit in Riyadh.

He also added that the president was days ago in Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference, in furtherance of his determination to retool the Nigerian economy through strategic partnership.”

In his response, the US Envoy said the United States was fully behind Nigeria’s democracy and was supportive of its media growth through the offer of consistent training over the years.

Green described Nigeria as a critical partner in regional security and economic development.