Commissioner Tasks Women Journalists On Professionalism

Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr Austin Tam-George has charged women journalists in the state to deploy their professional expertise and competence like their male-folks to protect the less-privileged and most vulnerable in the society.
Declaring open a three-day capacity building training programme organized by Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ),  the commissioner described NAWOJians as key drivers in the reportage of issues focusing on women and children.
In the training which was in collaboration with the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NRSP) and the Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) in Port Harcourt, Tuesday, Tam-George said women journalists should be properly trained, so that collectively, injustice against women and men could be remedied.
Represented by the Director, Public  Enlightenment in the ministry, Mr Obele Chu, the commissioner asked the women to sustain the training and retraining towards strengthening their capacity to address most of the critical challenges facing the society.
The commissioner said the ministry places premium on training and retraining of its staff to ensure credible delivery on mandate of creating residents’ awareness of government policies and programmes.
He noted government’s imperative for training, saying it was because of its focus on “Gender and Conflict Sensitive Reporting” in the society.
Tam-George added that the ministry would continue to support NAWOJ’s efforts at effectively addressing  challenges facing vulnerable women and children, while also working with all stakeholders to ensure that solutions are found within the context of appropriate government policy.
While thanking the organizers of the programme, he pledged that his ministry would continue to enhance further partnership with NAWOJ and other relevant organisations, and urged participants to apply lessons learnt from the training in their future journalistic activities.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Ukel Oyaghiri, enjoined  all participants to make the best out of the training, as much was expected from the professional fold, and invited them to participate in there forthcoming International Women Day, with the theme: ‘Bold for Change’.
In her remarks, Acting Zonal Director and Head of News, Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Port Harcourt Network Centre, Madam Cecilia Essien, said the training was apt, adding that the training would guide women journalists going forward in their career so as to make Nigeria, and indeed, Rivers State, investors’ haven.
Earlier, Chairperson, NAWOJ, Rivers State, Mrs Lilian Okonkwo, had said that the training was informed by the need to ensure that journalists report issues without causing any friction in the society, saying that enhancing the capacity of female journalists to objectively report issues around victims of conflicts was critical to her leadership because of its role in stabilising the polity and society.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana