The Federal Government has accused media houses of portraying Nigeria in bad light before the international community.
Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, said Nigeria is experiencing image problems due to unflattering reports by the media.
Mohammed disclosed this at a ceremony on renaming of the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Headquarters building after the late Wada Maida in Abuja on Thursday.
The minister accused the media of not being factual in their report of security agents in the fight against insecurity.
According to Mohammed: “Whatever image problem Nigeria is suffering from today is mostly due to the unflattering portrayal of the country by the country’s media.
“Even when some media organizations report fake news, they never have the decency to retract such stories and apologise. They simply move on as if nothing has happened.
“We are not saying the media should not report on the security challenges we face. All we are saying is: be fair and report accurately the efforts being made by the state and federal governments to tackle the challenges.
“Even if you don’t want to encourage the men and women in uniform fighting to keep us safe, please don’t discourage them with negative reporting. The security challenges we face today will be successfully tackled and Nigeria will not cease to exist, despite the antics of naysayers.”
