…Pledges Cooperation With Media

The Rivers State Government has reiterated its commitment and interest to see that all accredited practicing journalists in the State are given the needed cooperation to enable them deliver on their jobs.

The State Information and Communications Commissioner, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari who gave the assurance yesterday during an official visit to the office of the Federated Correspondents Chapel on Ikwerre Road, stated that she is proud of the favourable Press friendly disposition of the present administration to the welfare of journalists in the State.

Mrs. Semenitari explained that the rumour that the State government preferred some media houses to others was totally unfounded and in bad taste as far as the Amaechi-led government is concerned.

She enjoined not only members of the Correspondents Chapel but the entire media constituency in the State to discountenance the activities of rumour mongers and concentrate to work for the progress of the State.

The Commissioner who used the opportunity to commend those who have continued to report stories about the State professionally, advised that it was entirely unethical for a story to be put out without due confirmation from those who are expected to do so.

On the complaint that some Commissioners and heads of government agencies hardly take their calls to clarify stories about their agencies, Mrs. Semenitari assured that she would do everything officially possible to change the ‘situation for the good of the State.

Earlier in his address the Chairman of the Federated Correspondents Chapel, Mr. Lawson Heyford had commended the Commissioner for the visit and assured of the Chapel’s preparedness to work as partners in progress with the Information and Communications Ministry to move the State forward.

Meanwhile, as part of her policy thrust to motivate staff and encourage hardwork and dedication to duty, the State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari on assumption of duty late last year instituted a staff of the month Award Scheme for the Ministry and its Parastatals.

A total of six staff drawn from the Ministry and its parastatals were the first batch of beneficiaries of the Award Scheme.

The beneficiaries for the month of December, 2009 include Messrs Owupele Benebo and Faa Lekara of the Publications and Accounts Department of the Ministry respectively.

Others are Mr. Austin Tolofari of Rivers State Newspaper Corporation, Kingsley Okeagwu of the Rivers State Television Station and Isaac Esuka of Rivers State Broadcasting Corporation as well as Maxwell Gbode of the Government Printing Press.

Speaking to newsmen in her office on the importance of the Staff of the Month Award initiative, the Commissioner, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari said that the Scheme was put in place to set a new performance agenda for Information Officers and other career staff in the Ministry and the Parastatals.

Mrs. Semenitari who stated that it was not compulsory that there must be winners each month, said the key idea behind the scheme was to make Information Officers and their counterparts in the government-owned media acknowledge and effectively rise to the occasion to deliver on their duties as public sector communicators, irrespective of the departments where they are redeployed to serve.

She therefore enjoined those who did not make it in the month of December 2009 to do their best to win in subsequent months and congratulated the maiden winners of the Staff of the Month Award, stressing that they should sustain the tempo of work.