COVID-19: NUJ re-echoes appeal for bail-out funds for media

From Paul Osuyi, Asaba

The national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has again appealed to the Federal Government to approve bail out funds for the media industry as part of measures to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It would be recalled that in May, last year, the union wrote a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, appealing for intervention for the media.

Making the appeal once again in Asaba after the National Executive Council (NEC) of NUJ, the union’s national president, Chris Isiguzo, urged the Federal Government to urgently intervene to save the media industry from total collapse.

Isiguzo who read the 13-point communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, said the media should be jealousy protected, insisting that a vibrant and independent media was germane in sustaining the nation’s democracy.

Isiguzo said NEC in session however frowned at some media owners for non payment of salaries to journalists under their employ, noting that the trend was impacting negatively on the practice of journalism.

On security, NEC urged the Federal Government to rejig the security apparatus to enable it effectively tackle “these challenges, especially the insurgency in the North-East, banditry and kidnappings, cattle rustling and other forms of criminality that have assumed dangerous dimensions, thereby making free movement of people, goods and services from one part of the country to another a difficult challenge.

“To further strengthen the security architecture, NEC also calls on the Federal Government to accede to the clamour for state police to bolster the security system.

“While appreciating the role of security check-points on the nation’s highways in reducing crime, NEC equally notes the hardships haulage trucks and transporters face because of extortion by security personnel.

“The meeting enjoins the Inspector General of Police and other agencies whose personnel are involved to address the issue in the best interest of motorists and other commuters.”

The communiqué lauded the approach by Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State in handling the security situation in the state, which according to the NUJ, has brought some respite and peace to once troubled North-West state.