By Correspondent in Awka
A frontline PDP aspirant in the planned November 6 Anambra State Governorship Election, Mr Godwin Ezeemo, has called on governments at all levels to ensure press freedom while media practitioners should give quality and factual repots, to ensure meaningful Communication and development of the country.
Ezeemo,who is also the Chairman, Orients Daily Newspapers and Magazine, Orient Group of Companies, made the call in an interview with the Newsmen in Awka on Monday during the commemoration of the 2021 World Press Freedom Day.
He reminded members of the fourth estate of the realm that factual information and reportage of happenings in the society would enhance national development and integration.
Ezeemo, who is among the 16 governorship aspirants under the plat form of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming election, said that freedom of media workers in discharge of their duty would check excess of government.
“If the government makes the freedom of information very operational and journalists get the required information and timely, to aid their reports, fake news would be out of way and the public would be rightly informed,” he said .
Ezeemo said that quality and factual information would also be used for public good, adding that it must not be used as weapon of destruction, incitement and disintegration but a medium to educate and inform the public.
The Governorship aspirant,who described the theme of this year’s Day,‘Information as a Public Good’ as apt,called on government to make Freedom of information law operational in reality and not mere white paper.
Ezeemo said that the theme called for action on the shared responsibilities between citizens and government in order to use information to advance oneness, justice, peace, security, development,in spite of geo-graphical location.
“Do you know that Journalists and other media professionals are partners in progress in their mission for peace and sustainable development?.
“Journalists demand standard training and retraining to meet up daily chanlllanges in a changing world, respect of the public and show of dignity in the course of discharging their lduties,” he added.
Ezeemo,who said that he joined the rest of the world to celebrate journalists and media professionals on this year’s world press freedom day, prayed for better welfare package for media workers.
He urged the government at all levels to have a rethink on a call for press freedom, access to information and the respect of the rights of Journalists in Nigeria.
According to him, freedom of information should be given to the media, while violations of Journalists’ rights and media censorship by government actors should cease.
He said, “According to the 2021 World Press Freedom Index by Reporters without Borders, there is a 13 per cent deterioration in the abuse of rights and privileges of Journalists in Africa in the last one year.
“This is one of the reasons Africa remains the world’s most dangerous continent for Journalists in 2021.
“Journalists and other media professionals are partners in progress, in our goal for peace and sustainable development,” he said.
In a telephone interview, Prof. Chinyere Okunna, a Professor of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, said the theme was apt and urged government to make the environment good for journalists to thrive.
Okunna said that journalists should be accorded due respect and be treated with dignity as well as loved, describing them as the wheel of progress of any society.
She said that the public should take action on the theme of 2021 celebration and truly make “Information a Public Good through quality partnership with journalists by sharing factual and verifiable sources of information for the development of the country.
Okunna, however, noted that media practice had been bastardised, adding that the core media workers must be encouraged to stand up to defend their profession from infiltrators at the same time maintain ethical conduct in the discharge of their duty.
She further urged media workers to not allow citizen journalism to replace their profession, adding that they should eschew misuse of digital communications and media union.
The don also called on core journalists not to indulge in misinformation, fake news, hate speeches amongst others saying that these vices had become threats to press freedom, justice, unity, and development in Nigeria.
