Onuminya Innocent
The Kebbi State Government has cautioned media organisations in the state to be vigilant against attempts by desperate politicians to use both mainstream and online platforms to spread falsehoods aimed at discrediting its achievements.
The warning was issued during a nationwide tour of media organisations by the Governor’s Media Team to Birnin Kebbi, where the delegation visited IMS Media and Skylight Television stations.
Leading the delegation, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication and Strategy, Abdullahi Idris Sadaukin Zuru, said the tour was also to convey the appreciation of Governor Nasir Idris to the media for their support to the administration.
Zuru, who represented the Commissioner for Information and Culture, Yakubu Ahmed BK, expressed satisfaction with the level of publicity given to government programmes and projects across the state.
He noted that the extensive coverage had encouraged the government to sustain its development tempo, adding that the public was also appreciative of the visible impact on their well-being.
The Strategic Communication Adviser however alerted journalists and media managers to what he described as ongoing attempts by “desperate, highly ambitious but hopeless politicians” to fabricate allegations against the state government.
According to him, these individuals were seeking to use media platforms to make baseless claims with the aim of undermining the achievements recorded by the current administration.
“Kebbi State administration under Governor Nasir Idris has changed the narrative of the state’s development through the execution of high-quality infrastructure and programmes that have positively transformed the socio-economic fortunes of our people,” Zuru said.
“That is why the opposition has become hopeless in pursuing selfish political interests,” he added, stressing that the government remained focused on service delivery.
He further alleged that some of the politicians behind the campaign of calumny had previously served at the national level but failed to impact their communities, while instead accumulating questionable wealth now being investigated and prosecuted in various courts.
At IMS Online Television, the Managing Director, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, thanked the team for the visit and commended the remarkable achievements of the Governor Nasir Idris administration.
He pledged that the station would continue to uphold the principles of justice, fairness, and the ethics of journalism in its reportage.
His counterpart at Skylight Television, Engineer Isiyaka Abdulaziz, also lauded the administration, saying the station identified with the “unprecedented and visible development” recorded by the Comrade Governor in the last three years.
The visit, according to the media team, forms part of efforts to strengthen collaboration between government and the media in promoting accurate information and developmental journalism in Kebbi State.