FG Defends Single-Digit Interest-Rate Financing for Media Houses

Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja

The federal government has said President Bola Tinubu’s desire to support the media to thrive informed his decision to extend a single-digit interest-rate financing to media organisations in the country.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the ongoing Ministerial Sectoral Update to mark the first year of the Tinubu Administration.

“We are also creating an enabling environment for all players and stakeholders in the media and information ecosystem to thrive. One highlight here is the recent directive by Mr. President to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, through the Bank of Industry (BOI), to extend its single-digit interest-rate financing to media organisations in the country.

“It is now incumbent upon media practitioners to develop bankable proposals to access this financing facility being offered by the federal government, and I hope that you the media will take full advantage of this great opportunity,” he said.

Idris noted the president had decided not dwell on fanfare in his first year but to fully be accountable to Nigerians by projecting the successes recorded in the federal government’s development objectives, known as the Renewed Hope Agenda.

Idris said the government had made efforts to ensure that the regular Briefing Series received the widest possible coverage, through traditional and digital platforms with the objective to enlighten, inform and educate Nigerians and the world and to ensure that everyone was carried along through the provision of detailed, relevant, credible and timely information.

He urged members of the press to report the Briefing Series objectively and responsibly through their headlines and the narratives.