Why FG must address insecurity – NUJ

By Oluseye Ojo

Worried by the prevailing insecurity across Nigeria, the National Executive Council (NEC) of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has voiced its grave concerns over the various forms of insecurity plaguing the country’s six geopolitical zones.

It particularly cited kidnapping and violent crimes in the South East, insurgency in the North East, banditry in North West and rising militancy in the South South as well kidnapping in the South West, cattle rustling and attack on farmlands in the North Central by herders.

The position was made known in a communique issued at the end of a quarterly NEC meeting hosted by the Chief Ademola Babalola-led NUJ, Oyo State Council, in Ibadan.

The communique was signed by the National Secretary, Achike Chude.

The NEC meeting, presided over by the National President, Dr. Chris Iziguso, deliberated on various issues and reached several resolutions, calling on the heads of the nation’s security apparatus to “rise to the occasion and address the situation.”

In the communique read by Iziguso, NEC cautioned politicians against attacking journalists during the upcoming governorship elections in Ondo and Edo states and expressed dismay at the incessant and arbitrary arrests and detention of journalists by security personnel.

Addressing the economic challenges facing Nigerians, the NEC expressed concerns over the delay in production at the Dangote Refinery, the incessant vandalisation of power installations, the poor state of roads, and the need for the Federal Government to include the South East in the coastal highway project.

“NEC calls on Federal and State Governments to urgently intervene on the poor state of roads in the country and further calls on the Federal Ministry of Works and Federal Roads Maintenance Agency to urgently proffer measures to ease the sufferings of motorists.

“NEC seeks an urgent consideration from the Federal Government to include the South East among the zones captured in the coastal highway project as no zone along the coastal line should be sidelined in the project.

“NEC requests communities in flood-prone zones to adhere strictly to the early warnings by NIMET and Federal Ministry of Environment to avoid regrets occasioned by flood disaster. And NEC equally calls on the government to address the perennial flooding affecting most parts of the country,” the communique read in part.

NEC also appealed to the government to resolve the issues of the new minimum wage for Nigerian workers and the pending issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the interest of education and Nigerian students.

NEC further mandated the National Secretariat to overhaul and reorganise the International Institute of Journalism (IIJ) by instituting a new Governing Council for optimal performance.

“NEC also resolves to appeal to heads of security agencies to support orphans and widows of deceased security personnel who paid the supreme sacrifice in the line of their duties.

“NEC urges the Federal Government to take urgent steps to regulate the activities of illegal mining in the country to avert further disasters.”