Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, has urged journalists to
hold government officials accountable, rather than give them awards on the
basis of “friendship”.
Wike stated this on Friday when the national leadership of
the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) paid him a courtesy visit at the government
house in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital.
Wike, according to a statement by Kelvin Ebiri, special
assistant to to the governor on media, said there was a need for journalists to
put in more efforts as the “strong voice and conscience of the society”.
“What I have seen of you is that you praise us and give us
award because of relationship or friendship. That’s not the way it should be.
Challenge us — the people in authority — and we will sit up to our
responsibilities. We will have no choice than to perform and serve the people
as it should be,” he said.
“My support for you has to do with the fact that you are
supposed to tell the truth of what is happening in Nigeria.
“There was a time you were exposing the ills of society. If
not for you, certain things will not be known. Assume your role, grow strong
again and speak out.”
He also commented on the #EndSARS protests, stating that the
youth were able to organise themselves without having leaders.
“If when I castigated
the operations of SARS you added your voice, who knows what good that would
have achieved,” the governor said.
“Now look at what has happened. There was EndSARS protest
across the country. Nobody knows how the youth were able to organise themselves
without a leader.
“Up until now, intelligence can’t even know how they did it
and who’s behind them. Without good intelligence, how can Nigeria even defeat
Boko Haram?”
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