Kogi NUJ Chair makes case for state-owned media houses

By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja.

Chairman of Kogi State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Comrade Adeiza MomohJimoh, has appealed to the State Government to resuscitate and improve on the state-owned media stations.

Adeiza made the call at the 2022 Annual Lecture/Award to mark “Kogi at 31” ceremony organised by Kogi-based tabloid, Nigeria Post Newspapers at the NUJ Press Centre on Thursday in Lokoja.

Adeiza who spoke on the theme of the lecture: “Governance, Leadership Re-defined: The House Must Not Fall”, said for the “House” not to fall, the Media must be allowed to play its role.

The chairman said the media has vital role to play and must be supported to play that role for the house to continue standing and not allowed to fall.

He reiterated the need for the government to improve on its media relations especially with practitioners in the state.

“I want to use this occasion to appeal to His Excellency, the Governor through the Commissioner for Information that is here today, that he should please give more support to the media in Kogi State.

“Yes, the big television stations, the big radio stations that you often patronise will take you to the outside world beyond the people that are here.

“However, the people that are here are the ones you need most since there is no Diaspora voting yet. The people in Kogi State and those resident here need to know what the government is doing”, he said.

Adeiza drew attention to the state-owned Broadcasting Corporation (Confluence Radio FM 94.1), which has been off air for over a year, urging that action be expedited for replacement of its faulty transmitters.

He also urged the government to go beyond constructing a befitting edifice for the state-owned Graphic Newspapers saying that that the paper was no longer on news stands.

“The publication of graphic has gone too abysmal. Years back, when we were outside the state, we could go to vendors in other states to pick copies of the Graphic Newspapers but today, hardly can you get Graphic at paper stands in Kogi State.

“It is also not good that in the last one year the state radio station has been off the air. Whatever is the problem, Honorable commissioner, please assist us.

“Support for the Media is what is needed to keep the house standing”, he said.

In his response, the state Commissioner for Information, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, said the state government under the leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello was doing so much.

He said that transmitters for the state radio station had been imported and would soon arrive in the state for the station to come back on air.