Emmanuel Ugwu
Minister of Information and supervising Minister of Defence, Mr. Labaran Maku, Thursday decried the vicious and highly divisive politics in the country, saying it doesn’t encourage development when performing leaders are run down because of political differences.
Maku made the observation at Umuahia, Abia State, where he laid the foundation stone of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, and also inaugurated the ultra-modern office complex of the broadcasting Corporation of the state (BCA).
Governor Theodore Orji had undertaken to build the NUJ Press Centre as one of his legacy projects at an estimated cost of N145 million.
The minister regretted that anti democratic forces now speak with the loudest voice because “they have taken over the media,” and are bent on running down every good work accomplished by the present administration in order to score cheap political points.
He said: “There are anti-democratic elements who don’t want this democracy to succeed,” adding that their stock in trade was to peddle vicious rumours and paint every achievement of government in bad light.
Maku cited President Goodluck Jonathan and Orji as examples of good performing leaders, who have been maligned by the opposition and wondered if it would cost any politician his greatness to acknowledge that an opponent is doing well.
The minister, who noted that “the best governors don’t have access to the media because the media only report those who made the loudest noise, lauded the governor for his sterling performance which has set his “voice growing at the national level.”
In his speech Orji described by both the NUJ and Radio Television Theatre and Art Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU) as the media friendly, said he was motivated to embark on the construction of the NUJ Press Centre in appreciation of the role journalists played in correcting the bad image of the state created by the opposition.
The governor, who has completed the ultra-modern office complex of the state broadcast media, said that he was putting up solid modern structures because “we are under pressure to catch up and put in place structures for all key establishments” as his predecessors failed to do so.
Earlier the chairman of the state Council of NUJ, Mr. Hyacinth Okoli, had said it was a dream come true that government of Orji had undertaken to give NUJ a befitting Press Centre and prayed that the project would be completed in record time.
President of RATTAWU, Mr. Yemisi Bamgbose, expressed satisfaction over the way Orji has shown much concern for the development of the state broadcast media by building an ultra-modern office complex, which he described as the best he has seen across the nation.