The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has dismissed media reports that the press was barred from covering the official activities of the Nigerian Senate.
The leader of the National Assembly stated this while reacting to reports that the media were shut out of the coverage of the budget defence at the various Senate committees.
Mr Lawan who gave his own side of the story described the report as misrepresentation of facts. He said it was normal for journalists to be barred from covering issues bordering on national security.
“There is no shut out of the press from what we do,” Lawan was quoted in a statement by, Ola Awoniyi, his aide on social media, as saying on Monday while addressing reporters.
“We need the press to tell Nigerians what we are doing. You (journalists) are our friends. That was a misunderstanding (of what happened),” the top lawmaker said.
The Senate President also 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 added.
