Alia Adopts Benue NUJ House as Briefing Venue

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has said that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Benue State Council Secretariat in Makurdi will serve as the administration’s venue for government appointees to brief the media on the progress and development of their respective offices.

The governor made this known through the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr. Peter Ogbodo, who attended the union’s congress. He said the Alia administration regards journalists not merely as stakeholders but as partners and collaborators in the task of developing the state.

According to him, the government will ensure that appointees come to the NUJ Secretariat to give an account of their stewardship in various ministries and departments.

Dr. Ogbodo stated, “By the time we create this opportunity, all appointees of government holding different responsibilities will come and tell us what they are doing. We will know, and not only become educated but also be more informed about which of the services benefit us as a group or as individuals.”

Explaining that modalities have already been put in place for the smooth conduct of the exercise, the commissioner disclosed that chairmen of local government councils in the state would also be encouraged to prioritize the NUJ House for the purpose of informing Benue people about what the administration is doing to improve their well-being.

He stated that the state government acknowledges the union’s contributions not just as a partner but as a stakeholder necessary for collaboration to deliver quality services to the people. “I wanted to call for this type of meeting, and I am still planning to hold it because we must identify who our stakeholders are. Stakeholder identification is what we are doing, and it’s only when we identify our stakeholders that we can come together and develop the roadmap for information management in the state. I consider this body a critical stakeholder in the effort to make Benue State better,” he said.

Responding to concerns raised by some union members over alleged marginalization, Dr. Ogbodo assured that the government would address the situation promptly. “The exclusion of your members from government activities by those at the helm of media management — let me assure you that we are networking to quickly see how this situation can be reversed. You are stakeholders, and anything that excludes you from us makes you irrelevant. This government will attend to it urgently,” he said.

The commissioner further expressed the administration’s commitment to support NUJ Chairman, Bemdoo Ugber, and commended the screening of journalists as a welcome development aimed at weeding out quacks from the profession.

Dr. Ogbodo also urged the NUJ not to hesitate to draw the government’s attention whenever it requires support in maintaining accurate records of qualified journalists in the state.

In a related development, the government urged journalists to proactively publicize the administration’s efforts in physical infrastructure and human capital development, including the establishment of the University of Agriculture, Science and Technology, Ihugh, and the scholarship awarded to 44 first-class graduates from the state to enable them to pursue further studies anywhere in the world.