The Democratic Front (TDF) has described the manner Daily Trust handled the Samoa Agreement as unprofessional and shameful.
It said in a statement signed by its Chairman Danjuma Mohammed and Secretary Wale Adedayo that it was embarrassing that a renowned mainstream media could act so irresponsibly.
“We are embarrassed by the annoyingly unprofessional reportage of the Daily Trust Newspaper on the legal framework for cooperation between the OACPS and the European Union, popularly known as the Samoa Agreement, which was signed by Nigeria in Brussels on 23rd of June 2024.
“It is indeed more disturbing that a media outfit like the Daily Trust Newspaper, that claims to have operated for 26 years in Nigeria, could carelessly import the personal opinions of its editors on the Samoa Agreement and report it to the public as a news item. Rather than report the news, the paper went overboard to create its own news.
“By so doing, the Daily Trust Newspaper shamelessly deviated from topflight professional pursuit of credible and fact-based Journalism, to deliberately misleading and misinforming its readers with a self-concocted and fallacious importation of Lesbian, Bi-sexual, Gay, Transgender Queer(LGBTQ) clause into the sanctity of the Samoa Agreement that was signed by Nigeria.
“The manner with which the newspaper rushed its misleading information on the Samoa Agreement to the public space without meticulously investigating it mendacity, as required by the basic ethics of credible Journalism, implicates a calculated attempt to tanish the image of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led Federal Government and to cause political disaffection, religious uproar and pandemonium in the country.
“It is, therefore, our considered opinion, that the Federal Government should take its threat on legal action against the Daily Trust Newspaper very seriously, so as to serve as deterrence to potential practitioners who may want to undermine the profession of Journalism in Nigeria going forward.
The group called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to maintain focus on the deal which is aimed at boosting food security, and enhancing developments in vital sectors of the economy.
“An economy that is undergoing fundamental reforms like that of Nigeria can not close its eyes or shut its doors to opportunities offered by international cooperations like the Samoa Agreement,”it added..
The group also urged relevant authorities in the media to take necessary steps to restore credibility of the noble profession.
It said: “We call on the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) to step up its effort to improve the level of compliance and adherence to professional ethics and principles by journalists in the country.
“The embarrassment created by the Daily Trust Newspaper report on the Samoa Agreement is appalling, the NUJ should ensure that those involved in that show of shame are reprimanded and if need be, retrained to become professional journalists.
“We believe that there is no ambiguity or equivocation that suggested the adoption of LGBTQ in the articles of the Samoa Agreement as signed by Nigeria. It was simply a confusion triggered by some practitioners of lazy and irresponsible journalism.
” The Nigerian Anti-Gay law firmly confirms the nation’s Anti-LGBTQ status, and we strongly have faith in President Tinubu’s unflinching resolve to continue to defend the Nigeria Constitution, as required by his oath of office.”
