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Olusegun Odebunmi: Meet An Enemy Of Free Speech, Sponsor Of Controversial Anti Media Bills

As Nigerians protest the proposed revisions to the NPC and NBC Acts, it has been revealed that the bill’s sponsor, Olusegun Odebunmi, has no expertise in the media or the sector.

According to his profile spotted by Vanguard, Odebunmi has never attended a journalism school or worked in the media.

According to the profile, Odebunmi, also known as Bunvic, earned an Ordinary Diploma in Secretarial Administration from the Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Osun State, before enrolling at the University of Ado-Ekiti to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education.

Between 1974 and 1980, he attended Baptist Day School in Oko, Oyo State, where he completed his primary education before enrolling in Baptist Secondary Grammar School in Oko, Oyo State, where he completed his West African School Certificate Examinations.

Odebunmi, who was born into the household of Pa & Late Madam Odebunmi of Olokose’s Compound, Isale Ejigbo in Oko, Surulere Local Government, Oyo State, was involved in the distribution and selling of petroleum products as well as farming before entering politics.

He was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2011, and was re-elected in 2015 and 2019. He has remained active in his state’s political affairs, shifting his focus from secretarial administration and teaching to the regulation of Nigerian media, an area in which he has no experience or competence.

Odebunmi has served as the chairman of Surulere Local Government in Oyo State three times and as a commissioner of the Oyo State Local Government Service Commission.

He has also served as Treasurer of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, Secretary of the Petroleum Dealers and Marketers Association, Ogbomoso Branch, and Patron of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.

Bunvic is behind a series of revisions to the NPO and NBC bills that media operatives and editors have condemned as anti-media and designed to suffocate them.

A look at the bills reveals that the sponsors have given up the government’s limited independence, which he wants to decide what constitutes “the truth” in newspaper publication and punish those who depart from the Act’s standards.

Similarly, Odebunmi wants the government to impose tighter control over the broadcast business by determining who is chosen to the NBC board of directors by the President and the Minister of Information, which the Nigerian Guild of Editors characterizes as having the potential to kill the industry.

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