The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan said on Monday that it was share misrepresentation of fact to say that journalists were not allowed to cover the budget defence sessions going on at the National Assembly.
Lawan was reacting to report published in some dailies last week that the media were shut out of the coverage of the budget defence at the various Senate committees.
“There is no shut out of the press from what we do,” Lawan told reporters.
“We need the press to tell Nigerians what we are doing. You (journalists) are our friends. That was a misunderstanding (of what happened),” Lawan said.
The Senate President said it should be expected that journalists, at some point, may be excused from such meetings when sensitive issues that bother on national security are being discussed.
“I want to assure Nigerians that whatever we do in this Senate and indeed in this National Assembly is in the best interest of Nigeria. We will not compromise on anything as far as the national interest is concerned,” Lawan said.
Ola Awoniyi
Special Adviser (media)
to President of the Senate