Former Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has commended the efforts of the Nigerian Publishers Association and the Nigerian Copyright Commission for their efforts at promoting and protecting the book, as well as stemming the tide of book piracy in the society.
Ekweremadu spoke on Saturday, September 11, while hosting the delegates of the NPA to a dinner at his residence in Enugu.
The Senator had, earlier on the same day, attended a reception organised in honour of the President of NPA, Chief Uchenna Cyril Anioke, by his media friends for winning the election as the NPA President.
Among the delegates at the dinner was the Director General of the NCC, Dr. John Asein. The NPA delegates at the dinner were its president, Mr. Gbadega Adedapo; Mr. Henry Idogun, Alhaji Tahir Abdulaziz, Mr. Dare Oluwatuyi, as well as the Executive Secretary of the association, Mr. Emmanuel Abimbola.
The NPA President spoke with the former Deputy Senate President on bringing back the reading culture through the help of government.
Asein urged the senator to help the Commission to give necessary push to the Copyright Repeal Bill recently submitted to the National Assembly.
Asein commended the efforts of the Federal Government at protecting copyright and other intellectual properties in Nigeria with reference to what he called the huge investment in fighting piracy.
However, noting that the last amendment to the copyright bill in the country was done in 1999, he called for the quick passage of the current bill into law so as to address the challenges confronting copyright and IP in Nigeria.
In his reaction, Ekweremadu promised to support the Commission and the publishing sector for the realization of a new Copyright Bill.
The Senator, who is also an author, autographed one of his books, ‘Who will love my country: Ideas for building the Nigeria of our dreams,’ as a parting gift to delegates.
