The Nigerian Governors’ Forum has opposed death penalty for hate speech and asked the National Assembly to conduct a public hearing on the proposed bill to aggregate the views of citizens.
The Senate had on Tuesday last week introduced the hate speech bill, which among others, prescribed death by hanging as punishment for certain categories of offenders.
The NGF Vice Chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, on Thursday said due process should be followed.
When asked whether the governors backed death penalty for hate speech, Tambuwal said, “I’m not sure I have heard any governor coming out to say he is in support of death penalty for hate speech.
“I believe the National Assembly should hold a public hearing on that bill so that due process of lawmaking is followed, so that the views of Nigerians not just the governors will be well captured.
“That bill should respect the views of Nigerians in whatever may be the direction of debate and the eventual passage or otherwise of it.”
On the threat by the Nigerian Labour Congress to embark on strike if any governor refused to implement the new N30,000 minimum wage, the Sokoto State governor said, “Various state governments have been engaging with their branches of NLC. I am sure it is work in progress.
“Before December, all the states must have finished working out the details on the issue of minimum wage across the federation.”
