The National Assembly Sergeant-At-Arms has restricted access to the gallery for at least 10 television stations in Nigeria.
The Nigerian Senate has prevented at least ten television stations from covering the chamber’s sessions, decreasing the number of accredited TV channels to seven. Although the document that was read at the entrance to the hallowed chamber indicated only seven media houses that would cover proceedings.
This follows a circular issued by the Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Akubueze, on Tuesday.
Accredited broadcasters include the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Channels, African Independent Television (AIT), Television Continental (TVC), Arise News, Newage, and ADBN. Meanwhile, the Press Corps’ leadership met with the Senate Clerk on Wednesday to discuss how to cover the chamber’s sessions.
It was consequently astonished by the behavior of the Senate, which, right in the middle of engaging in talks to settle the situation, went ahead and prohibited several TV stations from covering its plenary meetings.
This follows a similar action in 2017 during the Bukola Saraki Senate Presidency, when the number of cameramen and photojournalists covering the Senate was reduced from roughly 40 to 13
