Don’t Be Partisan, Commissioner Urges Publishers

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, has urged newspaper publishers in the country to be objective and shun partisanship in their reporting.
The commissioner gave the charge when members of the Rivers State Newspaper Publishers Forum paid him a familiarization visit in his  office in Port Harcourt.
Addressing the publishers in his office, Dr. Tam-George, said as information managers, they should  always  ensure they act as the custodians of the  conscience  of society by holding public  officers accountable.
He said the Rivers State government under the leadership of Nyesom Wike was ready to partner with the publishers for effective information  dissemination in the State,  and called for regular interface between  the publishers and the government.
He noted that the Wike administration operated on the principles of transparency and not propaganda which  was the hallmark of the immediate past administration in the State.
The commissioner who listed Governor Wike’s several development projects in the State, called on the publishers to support  the administration to enable  him embark on more quality projects.
He pointed out that the government  operates  transparent  procurement process,  where projects are done according to specification and agreed timeline, without contract variation, which was the way public funds were looted in the past.
Earlier,  the chairman of the Rivers State Newspaper Publishers Forum, High Chief Monday Wehere had said they were in the commissioner’s office to seek  areas of partnership for effective news coverage in Rivers  State.
The Chairman called on the Rivers State government to involve  the publishers in the activities of the 50th anniversary  of the State and commended the State government for the several  developmental projects currently embarked  on  in the State, especially  in the  area of road construction.

Taneh Beemene