Delta Speaker urges regulators to weed out quacks in journalism

The Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Emomotimi Dennis Guwor, on Thursday, lamented the invasion of quacks into the journalism profession and urged the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and other regulatory bodies to weed them out with immediate effect.

Guwor expressed concern that these quacks often have ulterior motives and pecuniary interests in their reportage, which is detrimental to the profession.

The Speaker raised this concern while hosting a team of Assembly Correspondents in his office in Asaba.

While challenging journalists to uphold the ethics of the profession in their routine reportage, the Speaker, who also serves as the National Treasurer of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria, decried the rate at which some journalists are readily available to engage in blackmail and character assassination.

He stressed that integrity remains the key to success and a happy life, urging journalists to firmly uphold their ethics. He also commended the Assembly Correspondents for their due diligence and balanced reportage in covering the activities of the House.

“The reason why we are here is to better ourselves. That is the truth. All you need as reporters is to do your best and be the best.

“You should be ready to give the best to our people. So, I want to encourage you to continue to do what you are doing. You should do it without any form of bitterness or for pecuniary gains.

“For Nkem, my Chief Press Secretary, I knew him as an Assembly Correspondent since 2007, and I watched him closely. Today, he is CPS to the Speaker. People are watching you too, and you can be picked for higher assignments by anybody.

“Experience has shown that within the journalism profession, there are some people whose interests are based on immediate rewards, so they resort to unnecessary blackmail. These are mostly quacks within the profession. They blackmail people to make quick gains.

“But for you who are professionals, you may not get immediate rewards as it were, but you should continue to uphold the ethics of the profession because there is always a reward for every good work,” Guwor said.

Earlier, Mr. Andrew Ikehi, Leader of the Assembly Correspondents, told the Speaker that they were in his office on a thank-you visit for the robust and symbiotic relationship that existed between him, other lawmakers, and the media in the year 2024.