Senate prohibits more than 10 TV stations and photojournalists from reporting on plenary sessions

As the Senators convene in the recently refurbished Chamber for legislative duties, the National Assembly Sergeant-At-Arms has prohibited a minimum of 10 Television stations in the nation from entering the gallery.

An operative of the Sergeant-At-Arms positioned at the Chamber’s entrance informed reporters that Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, directed the security team to limit and reduce the number of media outlets covering the proceedings.

Obasanjonews.com noted a document signed by the Senate Clerk, Chinedu Akubueze, displayed at the chamber’s entrance, which listed only seven media houses authorized to cover the events.

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The accredited media houses include Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Channels, African Independent Television (AIT), Television Continental (TVC), Arise News, Newage, and ADBN.

Despite this, the Press Corps leadership had a meeting with the Senate Clerk last Wednesday to address issues regarding coverage of the proceedings in the chamber.

Journalists covering the National Assembly have expressed surprise at the Senate’s decision to exclude certain TV stations from reporting on its plenary sessions while discussions on the matter were still ongoing.