Chairman, Correspondent Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalist, NUJ, Mallam Abdulhakeem Garba, had asked the Kwara State governor, AbdulRahaman AbdulRazak, to be the advocate of journalists especially in the area of welfare in the employment of the state owned media.
Garba, a journalist with Channels Television, made this comment in a speech he delivered at the 2022 Press Week, where he drew attention to the plight of journalists incessantly harrassed by men of security agencies in the state.
“The media industry is the most distressed in the country.
“Our members are subjected to irregular salaries, no allowances, despite the many hazards that attend our jobs.
“We are often, needlessly harassed by security agencies.
“To cap it all, there are no insurance policies available to us,” Garba said.
One of the awardees at the Press Week event happened to be reporter who was subjected to punitive transfer for reporting the other side of a political divide in a participatory multi-party democracy in the state.
Asking the governor to see the the plight of journalists, the Chairman of the Correspondent Corps challenged governor AbdulRazak to be the media’s advocate in the corridors of power.
“We understand your limitations as governors.
“But as chief executive of your state, you can be our ambassador in the power circles were policy decisions are made,” he said.
At the same event,
Governor AbdulRazak vowed to do more in the areas of governance after being awarded winner of the Human Capital Development Advocate Award while also dedicating it to all residents in his state.
The award was presented to the governor as part of the activities marking the Press Week of the Nigerian Union of Journalists NUJ’s Correspondents Chapel, Kwara State.
The governor, speaking through his deputy, Kayode Alabi, who attended the Award Night of the two day Press Week at the E-Phoenix, GRA, Ilorin, said that the award will only spur him to do more.
“My team and I feel honoured with this recognition by the Kwara State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and we will not not take it for granted.
“This award is a challenge for our administration to continue to prioritise and deliver on the most basic needs of our people and make life worth living for all of them — irrespective of where they are in every corner of the state,” the governor said.
