KEY POINTS
- Femi Soneye urged government to grant media tax relief.
- He called for a media development fund to sustain journalism.
- Stakeholders say resource scarcity is the biggest threat.
Former Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Femi Soneye, is once again pressing the Federal Government to ease the burden on the country’s embattled media industry.
He made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja after receiving the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) FCT Council’s Excellence in Corporate Communications Award.
Soneye argued that tax incentives and duty waivers on essential supplies such as newsprint, broadcast equipment and digital infrastructure are overdue steps if Nigeria hopes to preserve the vitality of its press.
Media houses face mounting economic strain
“The Nigerian media remains one of the most vibrant in Africa, but it also faces systemic challenges—financial, political, legal and technological—that weaken its effectiveness,” Soneye said.
Beyond tax relief, he urged the creation of an independent media development fund to support investigative journalism, community broadcasting and newsroom innovation, warning that without intervention, the industry’s watchdog role could be crippled.
Calls for tax relief echo industry concerns
Soneye’s position mirrors repeated demands from industry leaders. Moreover, at the recent All Nigerian Editors Conference in Yenagoa, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) president, Anaba Eze, cited scarcity of materials as the most pressing threat to media survival.
Similarly, at the Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture, editors and publishers pressed the government to adopt policies used elsewhere—where journalists benefit from reduced or untaxed allowances and outlets receive direct or indirect subsidies.
NUJ FCT chairperson Grace Ike said Soneye was honored not only for his corporate communications career but also for “consistently advocating for a stronger, sustainable and independent Nigerian media.”
