*A COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF THE CONGRESS OF THE NIGERIA UNION OF JOURNALISTS (NUJ), ONDO STATE COUNCIL, HELD ON THURSDAY 30TH MAY, 2024 AT THE PRESS CENTRE, PEN CRESCENT, ALAGBAKA-AKURE*
_The Congress was presided over by the State Chairman, Prince Leke Adegbite and deliberated on a wide range of issues, from the media industry, politics, to economy, security, and welfare of members among others._
The Congress, after exhaustive deliberations, resolved as follows:
1. That the Union observed that some quacks who are not professional journalists go round the town ahead of the 2024 gubernatorial election in the state, blackmailing and engaging in unethical conducts with politicians and unsuspecting members of the public. The Congress resolved that the union Taskforce against Fake journalists has the mandate to track down such characters and hand them over to security operatives.
2. That the Congress bemoaned the epileptic and deplorable conditions of the ONDO State Government- owned media organization, the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation, OSRC, noting that the three channels, OSRC TV, Orange FM and Alalaye Radio have been off air for some times.
The Union described the ugly development as a big embarrassment and called on Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to urgently intervene and take right decisions to rescue the media outfits from total collapse.
3. The Congress noted that its members in the Ondo State Government service and other states workers woke up with rude shock that the N35,000 palliative wage award being paid to them, has been drastically reduced to N15,000; Ondo NUJ therefore implored the State government to revert to the agreed N35,000, bearing in mind that the harsh economic situation in the country has not abated.
4. That the Congress urged the State Government to fast track the transformation of the State-owned Newspaper, (The Hope), Owena Press to a Corporation in order to protect working careers of our colleagues working at the media organization.
5. It came to the view of the Congress that ugly activities of burglars and domestic thieves have soared in recent times in Akure and other parts of the state due to the economic hardship caused by fuel subsidy removal and Naira policy, the NUJ Congress therefore urges Security Operatives to combat the trend while also urging the Ondo state government to come up with deliberate policy to make every Friday a ‘Farming Day’ to given opportunity to workers to farm as a way of tackling food shortage and high price of food items.
6. That the Congress commended Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa’s administration for sustaining and adding five new Buses to the fleet of Free School Shuttle Busses, saying the step will reduce the burdens of parents in transporting their children to and fro schools.
_COMMUNIQUE DRAFTING COMMITTEE:_
1. Oluwatosin Ighoteguono (FRCN Positive FM Chapel).
2. Debbie Funmilayo (State Information Chapel).
3. Olaoluwa Meshack (State Secretary)
