Kogi NUJ pledges to hold political office holders accountable

Kogi NUJ pledges to hold political office holders accountable

Thursday, July 12, 2018 4:29 pm


Adeiza Momoh-Jimoh, Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kogi council, on Thursday said the media was poised to uphold its constitutional responsibility of holding political office holders accountable to the people.

Momoh-Jimoh made this known at media interactive forum organised by the state council at the NUJ Press Centre, Lokoja for aspirants seeking political offices in the 2019 General Elections in the state, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

“We want to assure the general public that this constitutional
responsibility of holding political office holders accountable to the people will be carried out with sincerity of purpose.”

The chairman said it was the tradition of the state council to put up programmes aimed at educating the electorate on political issues to deepen democratic practice through adequate enlightenment.

“Today’s programme will afford the aspirants the opportunity to sell themselves and their parties to the electorate; it will also afford the voters the opportunity to make informed decisions when it comes to casting their votes.

“I wish to use this opportunity to remind the aspirants on this programme that whatever they say will form part of the marking scheme with which their performances in office will be judged.”

Momoh-Jimoh said that the forum was in line with the constitutional responsibility placed on the media as the fourth estate of the realm by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.

“It is necessary to advise politicians in the state to play the game according to the rules by eschewing violence and other vices capable of breaching the existing peace.”

Mr Abdulmalik Abdulkarim, the Director-General, Bureau for Information and Grassroots Sensitisation (BIGS) urged journalists to uphold the principle of objectivity in their conducts and reports.

Mr Tope Joel, a lecturer with Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja described the forum as a veritable means of fast tracking democratisation process in the state.

Joel said the discussion provided “a golden opportunity” to get commitments from politicians about the way they would do their jobs and serve the people.


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