From Segun Babatunde in Bauchi
Plans are underway by the Bauchi State Goverment to reconstruct a befitting secretariat for the state Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists(NUJ) in Bauchi metropolis towards ensuring a conducive environment to operate.
The State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed disclosed this Tuesday during the opening ceremony of the 2020 NUJ Press Week held at the Development Exchange Center (DEC), in Bauchi.
Represented by his Deputy, Senator Baba Tela, the governor said that the state government and the media have enjoyed a harmonious working relationship since the inception of the administration, pointing out that journalists in the state are partners in progress.
He said that the 2020 press week was timely and apt, considering the fact that the nation is going through a revolution in journalism practice in the aspect of reporting and in the discharge of it’s responsibilities.
According to him,”There is the need for journalists in the state to support the state government in the running of the administration, anything short of that, will be doing a disservice to the state.Our administration has resolved to recuperate all the media outfits such as the Bauchi Radio Cooperation, Bauchi Television Authority amongst others, in order to close the communication gap.
He added that “We appreciate the role journalists played during the outbreak of pandemic and epidemics, particularly during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state, because they were the ones on ground disseminating first hand information on out progress”.
Governor Mohammed urged journalists in the state to ensure give objective, fair and balanced reports always, saying that it will go a long way to curtail the problem of fake news and hate speeches in the country.
In his address, the State NUJ Chairman, Comrade Umar Sa’idu commended the state government for the support it has given working journalists to discharge their duties without any form of intimidation.
He said that the week long activity of the press week of the NUJ was geared keeping journalists abreast with the latest trends and developments in the profession in order to perform their duties effectively even as he thanked the state government for giving journalists in the state the enabling environment to work and be productive.
