The Vice Chancellor of Glorious Vision University in Ogwa, Edo State, Professor Ezekiel Asemah, has charged journalists in Edo State to uphold the ethics of their profession and seek ways of updating themselves on the use of modern technology and digital tools to optimize their performance.
Professor Asemah, who gave the charge at a lecture organized by the Edo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), as part of the activities marking the 2024 edition of the World Press Freedom Day, stressed that journalists must adhere strictly to the rules of the profession and remain professional for them to be able to discharge their duties and responsibilities to society.
The theme of the 2024 World Press Freedom Day, which was held on Friday, May 3, 2024, was “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the Face of the Environmental Crisis.”
The university don emphasized the need for journalists to accurately verify and fact-check their sources of information before publishing any news item.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the State Council of the NUJ, Comrade Festus Alenkhe, tasked journalists on credible reportage and emphasized the need for journalists to maintain integrity, objectivity, and professionalism in their reporting.
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Responding after receiving an award for his sterling qualities and impacts on grassroots politics and developmental strides, the Chairman of Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State, Mr. Edosa Enomwoghomwenma, called for collaboration with the media to protect the environment.
Enomwoghomwenma said that his administration was already taking steps for a clean environment in his locality.
He said press freedom should also be looked at from “the angle that we must beam our searchlight and also engage in discussion around the environmental crisis and when we do that, we will create more education, enlightening the people more about what they need to do and what they don’t need to do to make our mother earth safe.
“As a local government, we identified the importance of the environment and it is our fourth thematic pillar of governance and myself and my team have structured our land for the environment around Ovia South West Local Government Area in three ways; we now have a dedicated area where refuse will be taken to, unlike before our emergence none was in existence.
“We are taking the next move, which is the government being responsible and providing the resources in managing the environment, and we will inaugurate a health volunteer scheme to show the people how to manage the environment and ensure that they too will follow, then we will launch an environmental waste disposal program for our people,” he reiterated.