Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike yesterday offered an insight into why he rarely visits Abuja.
During the launch of “The Big Interviews: How to get the news subjects and angles that make the headlines” written by Managing Director of The Sun Newspaper, Mr. Eric Osagie, Wike stated: “I have refused to visit Abuja as other politicians in the country do because those who voted for me as governor are not in Abuja.”
On the current political climate in the country, the governor urged the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the political leadership to practice what they preach.
Wike, however, described the author as “a principled and reliable man who stands for whatever he believes in.”
To the immediate past National Chairman of the APC, Chief John Oyegun, Osagie is “someone whose legacies in the field of journalism would never be forgotten.”
His successor, Comrade Adams Oshiomole lauded the author for the “wonderful achievement and the efforts he put in documenting his experience.”
He urged Nigerian journalists to be fearless, and courageous like their international counterparts by asking public office holders relevant questions that affect the lives of the people.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus, said the book came at the “right time when the media was being oppressed by the government in power.”
The Publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Sam Amuka-Pemu lauded the auspiciousness of the literature given the “digital era where contents that give credibility to the field of journalism are needed.”
He said fake news had done more harm to the nation, adding that there was need for a book that would teach journalists how to behave.
Also speaking, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, while extolling Osagie’s virtues, stressed that the media has a strategic role to play in the development of the nation.
Besides, the Executive Chairman of Ocean Marine Solutions (OMS), Capt Idahosa Okunbo, hailed the author for “making a difference in his profession.”
Meanwhile, the Rivers Government is launching a Security Trust Fund next month to strengthen security and attract more investments to the state.
Governor Wike dropped the hint when the president of the Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Hajiya Iya Aliyu, visited him at the Government House, Port Harcourt.
He said the major companies operating in the state must contribute to the security fund “because they benefit from the resources and infrastructure of Rivers State.”
“By January 2020, we will hold a security summit and also launch a security trust fund. All the major companies operating in the state are under obligation to contribute.
“We are committed to improving security in order to attract more investments to the state. We are developing the right infrastructure for economic development,” Wike added.
