Adebayo Adenrele
The Nigerian Press Council (NPC) has called on Journalists across Nigeria to prioritise the unity of the Country in the course of their reportage.
The Executive Secretary of the Council, Francis Nwosu, while speaking in Abeokuta at a 2-day workshop for Journalists drawn from States in the Southwest, tagged “Effective Coverage and Reportage of 2023 General Elections”, noted that the Council has been conducting such workshops to educate Journalists ahead of the polls and enjoined them to be impartial in the course of their reportage.
The Executive Secretary stressed that national interests should always be prioritised while also bearing in mind the code of ethics of the media profession.
He assured that the Council would continue to protect the practice of journalism.
In his remarks, the erstwhile President of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Ogun State Commissioner for Information, Waheed Odusile re-emphasized the need for journalists to be mindful of their choice of words in news reportage, adding that the way journalists report would determine how Nigerians would see the election.
Odusile added that Journalists must behave as patriots and must not write anything that could incite or cause crisis.
“Mind what you write. Don’t write Nigeria out if existence. Be objective but ensure national interest comes first. We should behave as patriots. If you put Nigeria first, you will think twice before you escalate a small issue. We must make national unity our watchword,” he said