COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A 4-DAY RETREAT/ CHAPEL WEEK OF THE CORRESPONDENTS CHAPEL OF THE NIGERIA UNION OF JOURNALISTS (NUJ), AKWA IBOM STATE COUNCIL HELD FROM SUNDAY 11TH- WEDNESDAY 14TH SEPTEMBER, 2022 AT THE ROSES REGENCY HOTELS AND SUITES, WUYE, ABUJA.
PREAMBLE
The Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State Council held a 4-day Retreat/Chapel Week from Sunday, 11th-Wednesday, 14 September, 2022 at the Roses Regency Hotel and Suites, Wuye, Abuja with the theme: IN SEARCH OF A BETTER NIGERIA THROUGH RESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM
i. The aim of the Retreat was to intellectually and professionally re-equip the members of the Chapel and other journalists within and outside Akwa Ibom State for the task of effective reportage of the forthcoming general elections in 2023 and beyond.
ii. In her address, the Chairman of the Chapel, Comrade Idongesit Ashameri expressed appreciation to the Governor for his support to the Chapel in particular and the NUJ in the state in general. Comrade Ashameri said the theme of the Retreat was apt considering the challenges confronting our nation in the areas of politics, economy, insecurity, corruption and governance, as well as the centrality of the role of journalists as watchdogs of the society in joining in the fight against the mentioned vices.
iii. In his speech to declare the Retreat open, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr Udom Emmanuel represented by the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Comrade Ini Ememobong, advised Nigerian electorate to vote for politicians who combine vibrancy with experience instead of those that would further destroy and bury the country. Emmanuel said the warning became necessary as Nigeria is in a critical stage of her economic and political developments and requires the right leadership to save it from eventual collapse. He congratulated the chapel and its leadership for taking the training of their members seriously to the point of braving all the odds to Abuja for the 4-day Chapel Week.
iv. In his Keynote paper, The Trajectory of the Nigerian Media: Past, Present and Future, the GMD of DAAR Communications, Chief Tony Akiotu, represented by the Director of News in the organization, Mr Adebayo Aboderin, outlined the evolution, and contributions of the Nigerian mass media to nation’s socio-economic and political development. He highlighted the strength and weaknesses of the Nigerian media and proffered some measures to strengthen their professionalism.
v. Goodwill messages were received from the Chairman of NUJ, Akwa Ibom State Council, Comrade Amos Etuk, The chairman of Abuja Council of the NUJ,Comrade Emmanuel Ogbeche, the Chairman of NUJ, DAAR Communication, and the immediate past Chairperson of NAWOJ, Akwa Ibom State Chapter, Comrade Uduak Ekong.
2, PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE RETREAT
The following papers were presented at the Retreat:
i. The Place of the Media in Shaping Monetary Policies for Better Economy, by Prof. Uche Uwaleke, Chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria;
ii. The Role of the Media in Budget Tracking, by Tijah Akpan, CEO, Policy Alert
iii. Safety and Security of the Media in a Volatile Environment by CSP Vanderfan James Tersugh (retd)
3, Observations:
The Retreat observed as follows:
i. That most of the CBN policies, either expansionary or retractive, on monetary policies, do not seem to work in curbing inflation in Nigeria;
ii. That such policies cannot work in controlling cost-push inflation because of the high cost of production such as diesel, gas, transportation, energy, as well as insecurity
iii. That there is no media representation in Akwa Ibom Public Procurement Committee contrary to Akwa Ibom State Public Procurement Law 2013
iv. There is a controversial section, 32 (2) in the Akwa Ibom State Audit Commission Law 2021 contrary to Section 125 (6) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
v. That the office of the state Auditor General of Akwa Ibom State has over the years been provided with very little budgetary allocation without regard to the enormous responsibilities it is statutorily saddled with.
vi. That it is disturbing that Akwa Ibom is not one of the 19 states that have so far signed on to the Open Government (OG) Partnership, which would have further strengthened reforms, reduced corruption, improved service delivery, built confidence with donors, and attracted alternative sources of development funding, especially now that revenue is really lean.
vii. That the responsibility of the media in facilitating contest for power through election to enthrone democratic government is enormous
viii. That the press should be commended for bringing to being and sustaining the current uninterrupted democratic dispensation in the past 23 years
ix That Lack of transparency, Compliance with laws/regulations, Threat of media channels, Discrimination and lack of efforts and Bullying and Harassment at workplace constitute serious threat to the media
x. That journalists all the world, Nigeria and Akwa Ibom State inclusive, have been facing several decrees of violence such as assassination, harassment, unjust incarceration, physical and mental injuries, intimidation, discrimination, etc. in the course of performing their legitimate duties.
4, RECOMMENDATIONS
Arising from the above observations, the Retreat made the following recommendations;
i. That since the extent to which the public understanding of the CBN Monetary Policy is dependent on the quality and quantity of information made available to the media, the CBN should ensure that it provides the media with adequate and timely communication for onward distillation to the public;
ii. That the media should guard against alarmist or inflammatory headlining of stories on monetary and economic policies of the nation so as not to cause panicky activities in the economy, which could lead to avoidable rise in inflation.
iii. That the government should stop the practice of taking non concessionary loans based only on assumed windfall, sometimes called miracle money, as such loans are not only illegal and illegitimate, but also have the tendency of mortgaging the future generations of the state to perennial loan servicing;
iv. That the fiscal documents of Akwa Ibom State should be domiciled at one location for easy reference instead of the present practice of scattering them to various places like the Budget Office, Ministry of Finance, Accountant General Office, Auditory General Office, etc.
vi That the media organizations should live up to the responsibility of training and retraining their staff, especially, journalists instead of leaving such an important activity to NGOs, or staff to train themselves;
vi. That the refusal or delay in regular payment of media worker’s entitlements does not only amount to abuse and harassment of the workers, but is also a deliberate act to subject such workers to economic insecurity which could engender unethical practice.
vii. That Media organization should provide adequate and appropriate security equipment and insurance to their staff covering violent conflict environment’
viii. That Media organizations should make transparency their watchword by regularly publishing their annual returns as done by other responsible organizations;
ix That journalists should display a high level of professionalism devoid of partisanship, favoritism, bias in their reportage of the 2023 elections and their fallouts thereof.
5, CONCLUSIONS
i. The Retreat expressed appreciation to Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Strategy for changing the face of information management in the state and making the ministry the most viable and effective in the state. The Retreat specially commended him for moral and material support he has often offered to the Correspondents Chapel.
ii. Notwithstanding lapses observed in the management of the state budget, the Retreat commended Akwa Ibom State Government for latching up to the State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS), which enable her to be one of the beneficiaries of the World Bank’s incentive scheme;
iii. The Retreat commended the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Akwa Ibom State Council, Comrade Amos Etuk for the harmonious working relationship he has displayed with the Correspondents Chapel, culminating in his attending the 4-day Chapel Week with at Abuja.
iv. The Retreat expressed appreciation to ExxonMobil, the principal sponsors, and other personalities and organizations for their support and assistance which went a long way in making the exercise a success.
SIGNED
Joe Effiong (PhD)
Chairman, Communique Committee
Tony Ita Etim
Member
Inemesit Akpansoh
Member
Comrade Idongesit Ashameri
Chapel Chairman
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