Mr Musa Elayo, the newly appointed Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State, says he will ensure that the rights of journalists practicing in the state are protected.
Elayo said this on Tuesday when he hosted members and officials of the state’s chapter of Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Lafia.
He pledged to ensure that journalists in the state would have a platform to practice without any harassment.
“I will not be a party to a situation where journalists will be harassed or detained in the course of discharging their duties in the state.”
He also advised journalists to always ensure that they balanced their reports in line with the ethics of the profession before publication.
“Journalism is a noble profession and one of the respected professions all over the world, hence the need for its practitioners to adhere to its ethics.”
He said that as the spokesperson to the governor, he would make his phone numbers available to all journalists to call and get clarification on stories any time.
Elayo also urged journalists to embark on developmental journalism in order to report on positive developments in the state.
Earlier, Suleiman Abubakar, the Chairman of Correspondents’ Chapel congratulated the Press Secretary on his “well deserved” appointment.
He pledged that members of the chapel would discharge their duties objectively, in line with the ethics of journalism.
Similarly, Wilson Bako, the Vice President of NUJ in charge of the North Central geopolitical zone, urged the spokesman to always carry journalists along in order to properly report government activities.