Watchers of the media spectrum in Edo state have held that the practice of briefing ‘selected’ journalists by a forward-looking government as that of Edo goes against the grain of fairness, objectivity and balance, rights group, Civil Empowerment & Rule of Law Support Initiative (CERLSI) has told Governor Godwin Obaseki.
CERLSI therefore urged the governor to reform processes linked to proper and seamless dissemination of information in Edo State.
Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku, deputy executive director of CERLSI, who recently pointed this out in a statement, said that at present, officials responsible for letting Edo people know about governance in the state allegedly do it selectively and confine it to the ‘who-know-man’ syndrome.
According to him, in Governor Obaseki’s first term, media aides were alleged to take only calls from journalists based on personal relationship and on ‘special arrangement,’ a situation that greatly hurt perception of the Edo government as one cultivating cronyism, nepotism and a curator of underhand media dealings.
“In 2018, the Edo state government expressed interest to sign on to the Open government Partnership, OGP, to promote access to information, fiscal transparency, zero tolerance to corruption and citizen participation.
“Therefore, giving tacit recognition to certain elements within the media in Edo State, and the seeming discrimination against online media practitioners makes Edo state government interest in the OGP just lip service, and a formal exercise devoid of the substance of openness, transparency and accountability,” Mr. Etemiku said.
“Watchers of the media spectrum in Edo state have held that the practice of briefing ‘selected’ journalists by a forward-looking government as that of Edo goes against the grain of fairness, objectivity and balance.”
The practice supports the widely-held view that the only reason why Governor Obaseki invites ‘selected’ journalist is that there are only pecuniary advantages accruing from being invited for briefing by government.
If only ‘selected’ journalists are invited for briefings, how will Edo state develop or grow? CERLSI challenges Governor Obaseki to walk his Open Government talk by embarking on an independent audit of all media practitioners in Edo state, with a view to promoting a playing field that truly engenders citizen participation, access to information, and a fiscal transparency that establishes a zero-tolerance to corruption in Edo State.
“CERLSI believes that Governor Obaseki has the capacity to depart from the obnoxious status quo by setting up an independent audit of online and mainstream media in Edo state.
“An independent audit made up of representatives of CSOs, journalists, religious institutions and government officials will do a baseline study, and map the media landscape in Edo.
If that happens, it immediately sets off a reform for access to information and promotes fiscal transparency in Edo governance,” Mr. Etemiku said.
About CERLSI: To educate Nigerian citizens on the import of the vote, their rights and privileges under the laws of Nigeria. Our focal areas include citizen engagement and capacity building, Rule of Law, Community advocacy, Media, Human Rights.
