ADO-EKITI - Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has warned against restraining freedom of the press in the country, describing journalism as the bastion of all good things that has ever happened to Nigeria in her 60 years history.
He also stated that the press shouldn’t be repressed despite the perceived inadequacies on the part of some media practitioners in the country
Fayemi, who is the chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) contended that journalists had etched their names indelibly in the history of the country.
The governor spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital during a dinner organised by the Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Rev Felix Ajakaye, for members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ), Ekiti Council.
He stressed that no matter the excesses being exhibited by the press that under no guise should its freedom be abridged or tinker with.
According to him, “At various times, our founding fathers like late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikwe, Herbert Macaulay, Henry Townsend and Chief Moshood Olawale Abiola through the instrumentality of journalism fought for Nigeria’s independence and cleared the way for Nigeria to navigate to constitutional democracy from the military junta.
“In the fight for our Independence and the sustained agitations against the military for the journey to Nigeria democracy, journalists played prominent roles, even at the risk of their lives and jobs.
“The press stands for the people . It is the voice of the voiceless. Though, you may have some things that appear so terrifying now that we have social media, because of lack of control, but you still have to go to the mainstream journalism to confirm, because they have control and gatekeepers, who can be held accountable.
“Even if there are excesses, the freedom of the press should not be restrained. We should look for other ways to correct these perceived inadequacies”,
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