NUJ Commends FG on Reconstitution of NDDC Board
Bassey Inyang in Calabar
The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has commended the federal government for taking a practical step towards the reconstitution of a board for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The union also urged state governments to put the 13 percent derivation funds they have been getting to accountable use for the benefit of the people of the Niger Delta region.
The Zone ‘F’ of the NUJ stated these at a meeting its leadership held in Calabar, Cross River State, on November 26, 2022.
In an 11-point communique issued at the end of the meeting which was signed by Opaka Dokubo, zonal vice president; John Angese, zonal secretary; Stanley Job Stanley, chairman, Communique Drafting Committee; Andy Egbon, secretary, Communique Drafting Committee; and Solomon Azu, member, Communique Drafting Committee, the union, aside from commending President Muhammadu Buhari, urged nominees to the board to render their services with a sense of patriotism and responsibility to the country.
The communiqué, among other issues and demands, urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the Calabar-Itu federal road and other roads in the region, and put them in good state for road users.
The communique made available to journalists yesterday read as follows: “The leadership of Zone ‘F,’ made up of the Vice President, Zonal Secretary, National Trustee, National Ex-Officio, the Zonal Vice President of NAWOJ, state Chairmen and Secretaries of NUJ in the six states of the South-south geo political zone at a meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, resolved as follow: ‘The zonal leadership commended the federal government for reconstituting the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and urged the members to be above board in the performance of their duties as well as be accountable to the people.”
The communique also advised journalists across the zone “to be professional in their reportage, be cautious and sensitive to signs of danger while covering and reporting political events before, during and after the 2023 general elections.”
It also advised journalists to guide against being used by political parties and their standard bearers to fan the embers of discord that could cause division among journalists.
