Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) has introduced its Ombudsman, Justice M. O. Onalaja (rtd), to Nigerians, writes Emeka Umejei in the Daily Independent of Lagos.
The introduction was done at a press briefing addressed by President of NPAN, Ajibola Ogunshola, in Maryland, Lagos, on Tuesday.
Ogunshola was accompanied by other executive members of NPAN and other stakeholders on the occasion. He said the office of press ombudsman was not a court but instead a mechanism to examine complaints of professional misconduct.
"The office of the Ombudsman is not a court. It is conceived as an independent, voluntary mechanism, to examine published work in a newspaper or magazine, whether in printed or electronic form.
"In the discharge of its duties, it will notify all the parties involved of any complaints against them and call the attention of the relevant professional groups to the complaints as well,' he said.
Ogunshola further stated that the findings of the office of the Ombudsman will be published in the "newspapers and magazines of all NPAN members, including that of the newspaper or magazine against which a complaint has been made'.
He, however, added that the rulings on each complaint shall be the "sole responsibility of the Ombudsman'.
Click here to read the full report, posted on the Daily Independent's website.