Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, has reiterated his commitment to enhancing and improving working conditions of journalists working with the state while assisting their counterparts to discharge their responsibilities as the authentic voice of the people and as a bridge between government and the citizens.
Governor Ahmed gave this assurance in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba on the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day.
On the state owned media houses, the governor assured practitioners that when the on-going repositioning of the media houses; radio Kwara, Kwara State Television Authority and the Herald Newspapers; are completed they would be in line with international best practices.
According to him, the digitization of Radio Kwara and Kwara Television would be completed within the time frame.
Dr Ahmed noted that the theme of this year’s celebration, “Access to Information as Fundamental Freedom” was timely, especially now that Nigeria’s longest democratic experience was undergoing regeneration through the change mantra of the All Progressives Congress.
“Journalists as social engineers and opinion moulders have the onerous task of being in the vanguard of nation building now, more than ever before, especially against the backdrop of prevailing national economic challenges and the anti-corruption crusade”,he said.
The Governor counseled journalists not to practice journalism of the highest bidder but developmental journalism devoid of non-nationalistic interest, in line with the age held ideals of journalism profession.