Rivers
Permanent Secretary Tasks NAWOJ On Professionalism
The Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet of the Secretary to the Rivers State Government, Ms Kadilo Brown, has tasked women jounalists in the state under the umbrella of Nigeria Association of Women Journalists(NAWOJ) to adhere strictly to the ethics and standards of modern journalism in order to affect lives of other women in society.
Ms Brown gave the charge when the State Exco of NAWOJ led by its Chairperson, Mrs Enale Kodu paid her a courtesy visit at her office on Tuesday in Port Harcourt.
She stressed that the women journalists body should be a beacon of change especially on issues concerning the womenfolk, as she also sought their assistance in helping to propagate government programmes on issues of women.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised that the body should help enlighten the people of the state, especially those at the grassroots on the need to make use of the Free Medical Programme and anti- Cancer related campaigns.
She pointed out that lack of awareness on such ailments has led to the death of many women in the country.
Ms Brown decried the reducing rate of women journalists and urged the group to seek ways to woo more young women into the profession, while advising them not to jettison their domestic duties despite the vagaries of their calling.
Nevertheless, the Permanent Secretary lamented the rising quakery that has crept into the profession and charged them to ensure that such vice is rid amongst them through continous training and education.
She further urged them to use their profession to fight for the rights of women in the area of public positions and other abuses suffered by the womenfolk in the society.
In her remarks earlier, Chairperson of NAWOJ, Mrs Kodu disclosed plans by the new Exco to embark on sensitisation campaign on preventive health care, with special focus on cervix cancer and better lifestyle for women in the state.
Mrs Kodu also said school quiz competitions would be organised for secondary schools as a way of wooing young people into the profession.
She decried the inability of the rural people to access health care services of the by the government, and pledged the support of the association in beefing-up campaigns to sensitise the local populace.
The NAWOJ Chairperson called on the Rivers State Government to set up a taskforce to check the swelling child hawking,noting that the future of the children are endangered with such menace.
The Rivers State Judiciary has denied a media report claiming that Justice Frank Onyiri of the State High Court issued an injunction order restraining the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), from inaugurating the newly appointed members of the Rivers State Civil Service Commission (RSCSC).
In a statement issued by the Deputy Chief Registrar in charge of litigation at the High Court, Menenen Poromon (Esq), the state Judiciary disassociated itself from the report, describing it as malicious and fabricated.
The statement emphasized that the report was a falsehood and a misrepresentation of what transpeared in the court.
Poromon clarified that no such order was issued by Justice Onyiri or any other judge of the High Court of the state and urged the public to disregard the information, as it lacked any iota of truth.
The statement however advised the public to verify any information concerning the state Judiciary directly from the office of the Chief Registrar, High Court of the State, to avoid spreading of misinformation.