By Onome Oghenetega
Journalists in Delta Central and South senatorial districts of Delta State under the Warri Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) have announced their resolve to boycott all government activities with immediate effect.
The Union said the Governor Ifeanyi Okowa-led administration has not ‘fairly’ treated journalists in the area in the discharge of their duties to Deltans.
They particularly lamented and accused the Okowa’s government of failing to carry practicing journalists along in government policies and activities in the last seven years.
NUJ Warri in a communique after its monthly Congress held on Monday at the Warri Correspondents Chapel Press Centre, Warri, noted that Okowa’s government “appears to be far from the people of the area”.
The communique jointly signed by the chairman and secretary of the chapel, Comrades Victor Okpomor and Dele Fasan, as well as the Communique Drafting Committee, Comrade Joe Ogbodu, Sylvester Idowu and Ebenezer Adurokiya, members expressed frustrations in meeting up with expectations of their headquarters.
The Congress berated the state government over its failure to give proper account of its activities to the people, especially in Delta South and Delta Central senatorial districts of the state which falls within the jurisdiction of the chapel.
It specifically decried a situation whereby Journalists from the chapel are kept in the dark as to government functions and activities within these senatorial districts.
They added that there were a lot of issues that needed government’s attention that were left unattended to by the current administration.
“What the Delta Government is good at is to keep churning out press releases upon press releases about issues and programmes bordering on governance in the state with journalists not given an ample opportunity to ask first-hand questions.
“The Congress has been inundated with series of calls and accusations alleging compromise on the part of journalists covering this part of the state over failure to acquaint the government with the plight of the people especially in the area of some abandoned and neglected projects.
“Since we’re not accessible to government’s policies, challenges and programmes except what is contained in its press releases, we’ve been finding it difficult to meet the expectations of the people.
“Information managers of the state government, who are supposed to acquaint the people with update of its activities, appears evasive making the job cumbersome for members of the fourth estate of the realm,” the Congress further noted.
