The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulnus Nsirim, has said that the state has become a major player in national politics because of the vision and ingenuity of Governor Nyesom Wike towards rapid infrastructural development of the state.
Nsirim emphasised that the state has recorded giant strides under the leadership of the governor, and charged the media in the state to shift its focus from the urban to the numerous rural development projects executed by the Wike-led administration.
The commissioner, who disclosed this at a luncheon he organised for media executives and journalists in the state, last Friday, emphasised that in spite of the Covid-19 pandemic and the global economic recession, the governor has been on the driver’s seat pursuing his developmental agenda.
“That is the kind of governor we have in the state,” he explained.
He said contrary to the impression being created, Governor Nyesom Wike, has evenly spread developmental projects across all the local government areas of the state.
On how the governor has been able to achieve results, Nsirim said, “His Excellency has put God first, and he has a passion to develop Rivers State. He is selflessly committed to making Rivers State investors’ destination of choice, and of course, he is a prudent manager of resources.”
He noted that critics of the Wike-led administration had resort to accusing him of concentrating development in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, but quickly dismissed their claims by saying that the government under Governor Nyesom Wike has spread developmental projects to all the local government areas of the state.
He encouraged the media to find time to go across the length and breathe of the state to ascertain the achievements of the governor.
“I don’t know how many journalists know about the Sakpenwa-Bori-Kono Road, the Abonnema Ring Road, Abalama reclamation project and the cassava processing company etc.
“I don’t know how many journalists have been to Ahoada-East, Ahoada-West, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government areas, and the stretch of Andoni-Opobo Unity Road to see the amount of money that is being sunk there by this administration.
“Opobo people drove home in their vehicles for the first time in the history of the kingdom under Governor Nyesom Wike. And that is because there is a governor who is committed to ensure that development is spread throughout the length and breathe of the state”, Nsirim pointed out.
He urged the media to guard against the practice of armchair journalism, adding that the state government was open to welcome any constructive criticism that would contribute to the development efforts of the administration.
“I have said to journalists that it is only a bad leader that will not want constructive criticism, but what we shouldn’t promote is armchair criticism. The media must not allow itself to be a dumping site for armchair criticism, but you see, that is what we find most of the time. A lot of people are just there with pull-him-down syndrome. They don’t see anything good. It shouldn’t be so”, he added.
He challenged media practitioners to always uphold the tenets of objectivity and fairness in the discharge of their statutory responsibilities to society.
“It is important that now that we have so many people straying into the profession, the legacy we leave behind determines the sustenance of the tenets of the profession. You cannot afford to leave behind a situation where professionalism is thrown to the dogs,” he said.
Nsirim commended the media in the state for the cooperation given to the Wike-led administration in the execution of its NEW Rivers Vision agenda.
He appealed to journalists in the state to continue to partner with the governor, who is determined to bequeath a worthy legacy for posterity.
“When the history will be written, you will be proud to be part of the success story,” he told the media practitioners.
He conveyed the felicitation of the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to the media practitioners, and solicited for more cooperation with his ministry and the government in its determination to develop the state in the remaining years.
In his remarks, the acting Chairman of the Federated Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Rivers State Council, Mr. Amaechi Okonkwo, lauded Nsirim for boosting a cordial relationship between the Wike-led administration and the media.
He described Nsirim as an astute administrator and seasoned media professional whose goodwill has secured a friendly relationship with the media, urging that the relationship should improve even better.
Others such as the state Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Stanley Job Stanley; Mr Ngo Martin-Yellowe of RIVPA; the General Manager, Rivers State Television, Pastor Dafini Gogo-Abbe; all lauded Nsirim for building a bridge of friendship between the state government and the media in the state.
The media executives who spoke on behalf of the various segments of the media pledged 100 per cent support of the media to the administration.
The luncheon was attended by general managers, publishers as well as top management and representatives of virtually all the leading electronic, print and online media organisations in state, including the recently appointed General Manager of Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, Chief Ernest Chinwo, and the Publisher of National Network Newspapers, Pastor Jerry Needam, amongst others.