The Nigerian Senate has passed the Chartered Out-of-Home Media Practitioners of Nigeria (Establishment) Bill 2026, a proposed law aimed at regulating the country’s out-of-home advertising industry and promoting professionalism among practitioners.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South), was approved after lawmakers adopted the report of the Senate’s joint committees on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Information and National Orientation, and Media and Public Affairs.
Presenting the committee’s report, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, said the proposed legislation is timely and in the national interest.
“Having carefully considered the provisions of the bill and the views of stakeholders, the joint committees are satisfied that the bill is well conceived, timely, and in the national interest,” Fasuyi said.
According to him, the committees consulted relevant stakeholders before recommending the bill for passage.
The legislation seeks to establish a regulatory body that will oversee the practice of out-of-home media in Nigeria, provide a legal framework for the industry and encourage higher professional standards.
After considering the committee’s recommendations, the Senate dissolved into the Committee of the Whole, reviewed the bill clause by clause and eventually passed it through a voice vote.
Reacting to the development, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said the new law would help improve professionalism and bring greater order to the media space.
“This will bring sanity and order… Some breaking news can break the country and even some homes,” Akpabio said.
He also commended lawmakers for supporting the bill, expressing optimism that it would contribute to national development.
The bill will now proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being transmitted to the President for assent.
Source: Nigerian Senate.
