September 12, (THEWILL) – Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, has cautioned the electorate against voting for politicians, who would further destroy and bury the country, as the 2023 general elections approach.
The governor stated this while declaring open a four-day retreat in Abuja, by the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Correspondents’ Chapel of the NUJ, on the theme: “2023: In Search of A Better Nigeria Through Responsible Journalism”, held at Roses Regency Hotels and Suites, Wuye District, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to him, the warning became necessary as Nigeria is in a critical stage of her economic and political 3 and requires the right leadership to save it from eventual collapse.
The Governor, who was represented by his commissioner of Information and Strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said that any attempt to make the wrong choice in 2023 would take the country many years back.
In his Goodwill message, chairman of the Akwa Ibom State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Amos Etuk, lamented the lack of government recognition of media in building a better Nigeria.
Etuk, however, regretted that politicians seeking votes have dismissed the relevance of Journalists in the electoral process.
“The politicians seeking our votes have dismissed our relevance, they forget that all of us seated here today and millions across 774 Local Government Areas in the country, are the structures needed to give our country the best in the next few months”, he stated.
He charged Journalists to set the agenda for transformational leadership ahead of the 2023 general election.
“We must set agenda for good and transformational leadership. We must write with boldness, resist the current attempts to lay siege against the media, we must insist on a free press all within the boundaries of the ethics of this well-respected profession”, he maintained.
In a welcome address, the chairman of Correspondents Chapel, Comrade Idongesit Ashameri, pointed out that the retreat was to remind Journalists of their role in holding political leaders accountable and reminding them of their electioneering promises to the people.
Ashameri regretted that most journalists are quick and thrilled to give the best colouration and in the most appealing ways to such promises by politicians, which sadly most of them fail to fulfill.
“But the question is how often do we consciously remind governments at all levels of the need to ensure congruence between their policies and programmes in office, with the electioneering, promises earlier made to the electorate through our various media organisations.
“Gentlemen, this is where our responsibility comes in. This outing is, therefore, designed to afford us the opportunity to retrain our members on the rudiments of responsible journalism, especially as the general election approach.
“It is our expectations that carefully selected world-class scholars, captains of industries, core professionals, and enthusiasts in their various fields would drill in and do justice to this timely theme. We have no doubt that this outing would also afford us the opportunity to be re-equipped with techniques and skills on how best to track, consciously remind and hold government accountable to its electioneering promises”, she expressed.
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