Journalists begin press week with sanitation in Plateau

By Isa Abdulsalami Ahovi, Jos

09 September 2024 | 4:09 pm

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Plateau State Council, began its one–week programme on Monday by embarking on cleaning the major streets in Jos, the Plateau State capital. The journalists, in their NUJ T-shirts, marched from their Secretariat to Murtala Mohammed Way, Ahmadu Bello Way, and terminated their journey at the Jos City Centre which…

Primary roles of the media in any society including informing, educating and entertaining are so important that societies can hardly progress meaningfully without a vibrant press

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Plateau State Council, began its one–week programme on Monday by embarking on cleaning the major streets in Jos, the Plateau State capital.

The journalists, in their NUJ T-shirts, marched from their Secretariat to Murtala Mohammed Way, Ahmadu Bello Way, and terminated their journey at the Jos City Centre which is the Terminus Round About.

All this while, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Plateau Environmental Protection and Safety Agency (PEPSA) had been following and guiding the journalists as they cleaned the streets of the dirt.

Addressing the newsmen at the termination point, the Chairman of NUJ in the state, Mrs. Ayuku Pwaspo, said that the union decided to embark on community service to support what the government is doing in the state.

Pwaspo said that they could not wait till the last Saturday of the month to clean the environment, stressing that cleaning exercise should be a daily duty and a daily habit.

“And so, our coming out today is to re-enforce the fact that Plateau should be clean, that our environment should be clean, and that we want to see Plateau return to its lost glory as a “Home of Peace and Tourism.

“We cannot say we are a Tourist State when we see dirt everywhere on our streets. We understand that today is Monday and that is why we are seeing heaps of filth on the pavements. But we are glad that PEPSA is picking up the dirt,” she contended.

She commended PEPSA for all it is doing, urging it not to be discouraged but to continue to do what it is doing, urging the state government to provide more vehicles to enable PEPSA to dispose of the waste in good time.

The chairman appreciated journalists for their cooperation as the NUJ Press Week activities continue and end on Sunday by the grace of God.

Vice chairman of NUJ, Pam Musa, and the National NUJ officer who witnessed the cleaning, Ladi Emmanuel, all commended the journalists, saying that communicable diseases were due to a dirty environment.