We did not shut out media from legislative business — Lawan

The President of the Senate, Dr Ahmed Lawan, on Monday said it was share misrepresentation of fact to say that newsmen were not allowed to cover the budget defence sessions going on at the National Assembly.

Lawan, in a statement by his Spokesperson, Mr Ola Awoniyi, was reacting to report published in some dailies recently 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.

“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 newsmen, at some point, might be excused from such meetings when sensitive issues that bother on national security were 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.