The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has reaffirmed Nigeria’s unwavering adherence to the core values of press freedom, highlighting the role of the press in fostering a thriving democracy and openness in government.

During a courtesy visit on Tuesday, Idris said these things to David Greene, the US Charge d’Affaires to Nigeria.

“We support press freedom, but we also want to call on the US government to support efforts to enact best practices in the media space, particularly fact-checking mechanisms to reduce the flood of misinformation, fake news, and mal-information,” Idris said.

The Minister also restated Nigeria’s commitment to democracy, emphasizing that the US, as a crucial ally, must intensify its support for the Tinubu administration and its initiatives to restructure the Nigerian economy around the Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes social inclusion, rule of law, food security, growth, and the eradication of poverty.

Idris claims that since then, President Tinubu has made headway in his efforts to draw in foreign investment by physically attending a number of economic forums and holding meetings with influential figures in the business world. These meetings started with the New Global Financing Pact Summit in Paris and continued with the G20 Summit in India and the recently concluded Saudi-Africa Summit.

“As you well know”, Idris informed the US envoy, “President Tinubu is in Berlin, Germany, to attend the G20 Compact with Africa Conference, in furtherance of his determination to retool the Nigerian economy through strategic partnership.”

In response, Greene stated that the United States fully supported Nigeria’s democracy and had long offered continuous training to help in the country’s media development. He also stated that Nigeria was an important ally in both regional security and economic prosperity.