BY: Our Reporter, Calabar
The quest for a befitting State Secretariat for the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Cross River State Council has finally been met as governor Ben Ayade has given a conditional approval for the construction,
Ayade gave the approval while reacting to a plea by journalists in the state during a media summit organised as part of activities to mark the Media week,Ayade stated that the motivating factor that would elicite the confidence in him to fulfill the promise lies on journalists maintaining utmost objectivity in the course of performing their duty.
The governor frowned at a situation where most journalists have thrown ethical principle of the profession to the dogs and instead prefer to engage in unnecessary criticism with no iota of evidence of being objective.
He said “as long as media men continue to choose the path of bias reporting of government activities, without attempting to acknowledge governments’ efforts at ensuring that there is no disconnect in the process of governance, the gap of patronage and the required synergy that should normally exist would rather widen”.
Ayade however commended the present leadership of the union in the state for demonstrating a high level of leadership qualities,.
Delivering a key note address at the occasion, a legal luminary Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN,CFR, stated that the 2022 amended electoral act has placed a big burden on the shoulder of journalists,as they are expected to be very conversant with it’s provisions in view of the fast approaching 2023 general elections.
Chief Ozekhome urged journalists to be on toes as the election draws near if they expect the public to continue to have implicit confidence as opinion leaders and agenda setters.
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Ozekhome who holds the refered traditional title of Adaidaha ke Efik Eburutu conferred on him by the Obong of Calabar, assured nigerians that the country would continue to remain as an indivisible entity irrespective of the outcome of next year’s elections,
He spoke on the topic “2023 General Elections, the Nigerian Project and the media”, and advised media men to live up to their calling, if they must merit the tag societal watchdogs,
Earlier, the chairman of the Nigeria union of journalist NUJ Comrade NSA Gill had in his welcome address, pointed out the various challenges militating against the practice of the profession in the state.
These include the absence of a secretariat where journalists in the state can converge at ease in the course of discharging their functions,
