The Abia State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) has renewed calls for government assistance to build its permanent secretariat, lamenting that it remains the only state council in the country operating from rented premises.

The council appealed for the grand finale of its 2026 Press Week, held yesterday at its overgrown permanent secretariat site beside the Abia State House of Assembly, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, where the presence of snakes poses a threat to visitors.

The event was chaired by the immediate past Chief Judge of Abia State, Justice Onuoha Ogwe, while the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Gregory University, Uturu, Professor Uwaoma Kalu Uche, delivered the keynote lecture titled, “Building a New Abia: Media, Democracy and Politics of Development.”

The NUJ said Abia was the only state council in the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, that operated from rented accommodation, while other councils reportedly enjoyed government-provided or government-built secretariats.

According to the council, a previous administration had allocated a parcel of land for its secretariat several years ago, but successive governments had failed to translate the gesture into a completed building.
It expressed concern that despite the state’s reputation as God’s Own State, the project remained unrealised, even with an existing contract.

The council also lamented the absence of expected senior government officials at the Press Week finale, saying their presence could have provided reassurance about the government’s commitment to completing the long-standing secretariat project.

Speaking on the New Abia agenda, Justice Ogwe questioned whether the administration’s promise of a new way of doing things had translated into meaningful changes in public conduct, particularly the persistent culture of lateness to official engagements.

He urged journalists to contribute meaningfully to the state’s development by remaining focused on identifying and reporting practices that undermine the New Abia vision.

The former chief judge also challenged media practitioners to hold public officials accountable for punctuality, particularly those who arrive several hours late for scheduled events.
He advised journalists covering the activities of the state Ombudsman and other public institutions to report such conduct rather than overlook it.

Ogwe further argued that public officials who failed to demonstrate deserving conduct should not automatically command public respect.

In his lecture, Uche expressed reservations about the government’s repeated use of the phrase “Building a New Abia”, describing the concept as largely rhetorical rather than a reflection of concrete changes.
He argued that sidelining the media in the state’s development agenda amounted to undermining the Fourth Estate of the Realm and was inconsistent with the idea of building a new society.

According to him, a genuinely new Abia should be characterised by a departure from the practices of the past, with government policies and actions reflecting a different approach to governance and development.
He maintained that the government should take the lead in setting the development agenda rather than leaving the responsibility to other stakeholders.

The university don urged journalists to move away from clannish reporting and embrace peace and solution-oriented journalism, while paying greater attention to reputation management and constructive criticism.
He also called for greater professionalism, ethical conduct, balance and fairness in news reporting.
Uche further recommended the establishment of a body he described as a “Criminal Content Production Commission” to handle matters relating to criminal content production.