Minister Charges Media on Fairness, Balance Reporting

The Supervising Minister of Information, Dr. Nurudeen Muhammad has pledged

to vigorously pursue the actualization of the core mandate of the Federal

Ministry of Information in line with the Transformation Agenda of

President Goodluck Jonathan. He made the remark at the Radio House, Abuja

during his maiden meeting with the management staff of the ministry.

The Supervising Minister, who is equally the Minister of State

II for Foreign Affairs, said he would bring his experience in

the Foreign Service to bear on managing the image and reputation

of Nigeria to the rest of the world.
He called for the support of the media to promote harmony among

Nigerians in addition to encouraging healthy debates and

exchange of information between the government and the citizens.

Dr. Nurudeen Muhammad observed the deliberate efforts by some

people to spread falsehood ahead of the 2015 general elections

and enjoined the media to always uphold the tenets of truth,

fairness and balance in their reportage.
He said President Goodluck Jonathan was motivated to sign into

law the Freedom of Information Act in order to promote access to

factual information as well as encourage transparency and

accountability in governance.
“I want to assure this top management of the Federal Ministry of

Information that Mr. President is fully committed to the

Transformation Agenda and part of it and cardinal in fact to the

Transformation Agenda will involve the prompt dissemination of

correct information and encouraging healthy exchange of

information between the citizens and the government and between

Nigeria and other countries.
“As citizens of this country, as stakeholders in the information

service delivery in this country, we owe ourselves a

responsibility to make sure that our discussions and debates are

based on facts and are elevated from pettiness and
personalities,” he stated.
Dr. Nurudeen Muhammad said as a leading country in the world,

Nigeria has remained a role model for many nations, hence the

need for citizens to always discuss the country in the positive

light instead of running down the nation for political reasons.

He promised to continue from where his predecessor, Mr. Labaran

Maku stopped and introduce new ideas and innovations to surmount

the challenges confronting the Federal Ministry of Information.

Speaking earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of

Information, Dr. Yemi Folashade Esan gave a rundown of the

functions of the ministry and mentioned lack of funds as a big

constraint to the actualization of the mandate of the ministry.

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