Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Mohammed Abdulkadir has assured that his administration will ensure that the relationship with working journalists in the state is sustained by ensuring their welfare was improved upon while their contributions to the development of the state were recognised and rewarded.
Represented by his Deputy, Senator Baba Tela, the governor who received the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chris Isiguzor during a courtesy visit at the Government House on Thursday assured that the process of digitalisation of the state-owned media outfits was on and has been captured in the 2020 budget even as he assured that the government was looking into the weigh-in salaries for working Journalists in the state.
The governor said: “We met a state that was in shambles when we came into government. There was decay of most infrastructure but gradually we are tackling them and repositioning the state back to its lost glory.”
The governor assured that his administration has taken various steps and policies to reverse the ugly trend they inherited including the unfortunate number of out of school children in the state put at about 1.3 million.
He then thanked the NUJ President for the visit to the state and the commendation he gave to the administration, saying that it would motivate it to do more for the people who elected them into office during the last general elections.
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Earlier, the NUJ President, Comrade Chris Isiguzo, commended Governor Bala Mohammed for appointing technocrats into his cabinet, particularly media practitioners which include a former Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation (FRCN), Dr Ladan Saliu as Commissioner of Information and Communication as well as the current Deputy National President of the NUJ, Comrade Muktar Gidado as Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity.
Chris Isiguzo who was also elated with the richness of the Bauchi Executive cabinet which is made up of Professors, Doctorate degree holders, retired General, among others, said that he was in Bauchi to interact with journalists and various chapels of the union to have a first-hand account of their challenges and best possible way to address them.
The NUJ President also said that he was impressed with the report of a good working relationship between journalists in the state and the administration, urging the tempo to be sustained for the good of the people of Bauchi State.
Chris Isoguzo, who was in Bauchi in the company of other National officials of the Union, had earlier toured the roads and water projects being executed by the Bala Mohammed led administration just as he commended the governor for the initiatives, saying that they would uplift the living standard of the people.
“The governor as a former journalist is making us proud with the laudable and people-oriented projects since he assumed office and considering his background as a journalist, I am not surprised,” he stated.
He then called on the governor to implement the weigh-in salary and allowances for media practitioners in the state considering the hazards of the profession and the special services they provide.
While thanking the governor for the hospitality accorded him and his entourage, he also appealed to the state government to ensure that the media owned outlets are digitalised in order for the practitioners to compete with their counterparts in other places.
