IPC wants media to expose bad governance

THE Deputy Public Affairs Officer, United States (U.S.) Consulate-General, Lagos, Mr. Frank Sellin, yesterday urged journalists to be vigilant in their reporting.

Sellin, who made the call yesterday at the International Press Centre, Lagos, where he was the Lead Speaker during a Tweet-a-thon event themed “International best practices in transparency in government and the role of the media”, said the U.S. supports open government “with emphasis on principles of participation and collaboration which allows the people to take part in governance.”

He said: “Governments thrive when they pursue transparency to build a strong civil society.”

Sellin also said that transparency is an evolutionary process, which could be made possible if government partners with the media to achieve the goal.

Besides, Director of IPC, Mr. Lanre Arogundade, urged the media to go beyond mere reporting of the EFCC’s dramatic arrest and government’s daily pronouncements on the war against corruption, but to look at the inadequacies in the country’s institutional and legislative frame-works.

Meanwhile, Editor of The Guardian newspaper, Mr. Martins Oloja, said “journalists must be document-minded to report the civil service, and have enough information on the economy by investigating the financial aspect of journalism.”

Oloja, who expressed dissatisfaction over journalists who report only the surface of stories, said: “Must journalists who cover the National Assembly only cover the floors of the House? We need to ask questions and have knowledge of the system, as the public needs financial literacy which should come from the media.”

The editor, who said that the role of the media was crucial to defining democracy as they provide information to the citizens, reiterated that the media could not have editorial independence without financial independence, pointing to the issue of non-payment of salaries by some media organisations.

He urged journalists to read, as “only knowledgeable people would enjoy this century, calling on the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to sanction media organisations that organise private awards in honour of corrupt leaders and politicians.

The Secretary of NUJ, Mrs. Bimbo Oyetunde, said the new administration of NUJ wants to collaborate with the Guild of Editors to move the media organisations forward, adding: “NUJ wants to sanitise the media industry and embark on a media conference to examine the problems facing journalists in the country and proffer solutions.”