Adebayo Adenrele
The Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji has called on journalists across the state to be more professional and embrace fair electoral reportage as Ekiti prepares for 2026 gubernatorial election.
Oyebanji, who commended the Journalists for being partners in progress with the state government urged them to be fair in their electoral reportage so that all political parties and individuals can operate without violence and pandemonium.
The Governor made this plea on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti after he was honoured with an award of excellence by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ekiti State Council during her 2025 Press Week Dinner and Award Night.
Oyebanji, represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode expressed his delight at the honour, while also reiterating the commitment of the Governor to look into the demands of the Union, which according to him is among the priority list of his Principal.
Other Awardees at the event include the President of Customary Court of Appeal, Ekiti State, Justice Monisade Abodunde, Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti (EKSU), Professor Joseph Ayodele, Former House of Representatives Member, Bimbo Daramola and Managing Director of Delko Holding Ltd, Olufemi Aluko.
Earlier in his lecture titled: “Ekiti Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, Bimbo Daramola urged journalists to challenge politicians and make them accountable for their actions, saying doing this would prompt the actors and the society respect the profession.
He also commended the integral part of the Catholic Church under the auspices of Justice Development and Peace Initiative (JDPI), for collaborating with Ekiti NUJ Council in promoting good governance and accountability, as well as regularly engaging lawmakers with the citizens.
He said, “Society cannot be built by Politicians alone, every politician is also a member of the society. If the politicians appointed to positions are not doing their job, the people who elected them should be to wake up and challenge them.
“I heard that an NGO affiliated with the Catholic Church has partnered with NUJ to be monitoring projects of politicians across the state, that’s very commendable.
“So, partnership with a vibrant Union like NUJ, you begin to inspect the projects of legislators, we are asking them questions about constituency projects, what happened to this money? What happened to that money? If we are not doing that, politicians will forever take you for granted and the consequences of bad people in power will affect the profession”.
In his remarks, the Chairman of Ekiti NUJ, Comrade Kayode Babatuyi described the event as a programme to celebrate all journalists in the state, while also calling on the government at all levels to enhance the welfare packages of journalists for a better society.
Another highlight of the event was presentation of gifts to journalists who have performed excellently well in the course of their profession.
