The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has advised Nigerians to exercise the fundamental right to free speech with responsibility to ensure orderly, peaceful and development oriented Nigeria.
Director General of the Agency, Dr. Garba Abari made the assertion today while addressing participants of Course Four of the National Fact Checking course organised by the agency in partnership with some private sector organisations. The Agency is proposing to train 37,000 fact checkers from across the country to be in the vanguard of curbing the spate of fake news in the country.
The Director General who was worried by the implication of pervasiveness of fake news in the information eco-system warned that the incidence of fake news is likely going to increase as the nation prepares for the 2023 general election. For him, “the tell-tale signs are there already that we are going to confront the problem of fake news as we prepare for the next election. What we must do is to ensure that we exercise the right to freedom of speech with corresponding responsibility.”
Giving example of the protests in Canada, Abari reinforced the position of the Federal Government on the double standards which some Information Technology Companies deploy, saying “the situation in Canada today is similar to our own “EndSARS insurrection which these companies referred to as ordinary protest”.
The Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC who was the special guest at the event commended the NOA for its initiative in seeking a way to curb fake news said Ponzi schemes which have become widespread in the country with attendant risks to the economy of the country. He advised citizens to reach out to the Commission before making such investment decisions.
Participants at the three-day course are drawn from Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the military and para-military organisations and it is holding at the Army Resource Centre in Abuja.