Nigeria: Akunyili Commends NUJ For Defending Democracy

Abuja — The minister of information and communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili has commended the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, and the Nigerian Military for exhibiting a high degree of patriotism in the defence of democracy in Nigeria.

The Minister gave these commendations on Friday when the national executives of the Nigerian Union of Journalists led by its President, Alhaji Mohammed Garba paid her a courtesy visit in her office.

Akunyili commended the contributions of the Nigerian Press to the growth and development of democracy in Nigeria and appealed to the union to help in projecting the country's image positively.

She observed that the press has been in the forefront in the campaign of holding public servants and political office holders accountable to the people.

As regards the call by the NUJ leadership on the minister not to take the comments or statements attributed to the former Attorney- General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa on her activities as the Director-General of NAFDAC lightly, Prof. Akunyili thanked them for their concern and said she was really embarrassed with the comments, especially as an integrity awardee of the Transparency International.

The minister used the opportunity to inform the NUJ that with the letter of apology tendered by the former Attorney- General, and the intervention of many well meaning Nigerians, she has decided to drop the issue to avoid unnecessary distractions.

On the present political situation, Prof. Akunyili maintained that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and the National Assembly, have all played prominent roles in stabilising the polity and solicited for the understanding of the press and all Nigerians in the interest of the nation.

Akunyili further pledged the support of her ministry and its parastatals to NUJ to ensure the success of the union's 55th anniversary scheduled for April 15 -16, 2010. She encouraged Nigerians to pray for the speedy recovery of President Umar Musa Yar'Adua.


Earlier in his remark, the NUJ national president, Alhaji Muhammed Garba, commended the minister for her courage, which according to him, was a right step in the right direction.

The NUJ president stated that the union has observed a lot of improvement and development in the polity of the nation and maintained that the decision of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to constitute a six-member committee to visit the President Yar'Adua is in compliance with the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.

Garba charged the leadership of the nation to provide adequate information for the use of the media to avoid reports hinged on rumours, and tasked the National Assembly on the need to pass the Freedom of Information (FoI) bill.

- February 20, 2010 by Betrand Nwankwo
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Source: www.leadershipnigeria.com/index.php/news/headlines/12183-akunyili-commends-nuj-for-defending-democracy (accessed on 22.02.2010)