The Deputy Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Yusuf Gagdi, on Friday expressed dismay over the attitude of some politicians towards journalists in the state.
Gagdi said he had realized over time with amazement that the roles of journalists in Plateau State have not been given appreciable recognition.
Gagdi made the observation on Friday when he noticed that government appointees, serving and past senators, council chief executives, heads of board and parastatals and key stakeholders who often need the services of journalists conspicuously boycotted an Almanac lunch organized by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Plateau State Chapter.
The Almanac launch, according to the organizers, was conceived in response to the huge outcry among the general public over allegations on gross impersonation and presence of fake journalists in the state.
The almanac is to assist the public to quickly identify authentic members of the press in the state.
Unfortunately, many of the dignitaries invited for the progamme did not honour the invitation, except the state Governor, Simon Lalong, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information, who was accompanied by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and the Director of Press and Public Affairs.
Other principal guests at the occasion included representatives of the Director General of the Industrial Training Fund, the Director General of the Nigeria Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies and the Commander of the Special Task Force for security in the state.
But the National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Abdulweed Odusile, has vowed to weed out quacks parading themselves as journalists.
Represented by the National Chairman of Zone D, Chief Wilson Bako, who spoke on the theme: “The role of a Journalists in driving the change agenda of the present administration,” Odusile said almanac launch was a welcome idea.
He advised the general public to be wary of dangerous people parading themselves around as journalists.
He said the public should make the best use of the opportunity and buy the calendar to use it to check the activities of those who commit crime.
According to him, the calendar is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to flush out quackery.
The National Secretary of the NUJ, Mallam Shaibu Liman, said: “We must have to be professional by guiding the tenets of the profession and be a voice to the voiceless in the society.”
Liman called on other states to emulate the Plateau State chapter of the correspondents chapel by identifying the genuine members so that the country will weed out quacks.
On his part, Governor Lalong urged journalists to maintain their role as the watchdog of the society.
Lalong promised to offset all the outstanding adverts money of media houses owed by the immediate past administration of Governor Jonah David Jang.