Nkrumah Bankong-Obi, Lafia
The Nasarawa State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has appealed for assistance to fix its collapsing secretariat. It was a sorry site as the Union conducted its congress under trees in the premises of the dilapidated Council secretariat. The roof of the edifice which is located on Makurdi road, Lafia, has caved-in and the walls tottering towards collapse.
The Chairman of the Union, Salihu Alkali, who led his members at the meeting decried the failure of the Nasarawa State government to honour its pledge to refurbish the building. The governor had promised to provide N20million to rehabilitate the building and other ancillary structures within the complex. “I have to cry out to well-meaning Nigerians to assist us before we become the next victims of building collapse. Governor Abdullah Sule promised to fix the roof which is at the verge of collapse when he paid us a courtesy visit last year but since then, all efforts to remind him of his promise has continued to fall on deaf ears”.
To forestall any untoward occurrence, Alkali said “We will not use this building again until the roof is fixed to avoid its collapse on us. I do not want my members to be victims of building collapse in the state. We will announce the venue of our next meeting, but for now we will continue to seat under the tree for our meeting.”
The NUJ secretariat was opened for use by Bala Mande, a former military Administrator of the State, on May 25, 1999. The structure has not undergone any holistic maintaiance ever since and now constitutes a hazard to its users..
While praying for peaceful polls, Alkali implored the Nasarawa State government to ensure the safety of media practitioners in the State. He called on the newsmen to focus more on agenda setting, as partners in the development of the State.