The refusal of the Nyesom Wike led State Government to open up its doors to the local press, can best be described as a deliberate attempt to cage information from the electorate.
This position was made known in a press statement issued by the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Publishers’ Association, RIVPA, Gloria Boma Harry.
RIVPA observed that the media parley with newspaper publishers, that was a regular activity of past administrations, have been discarded and in its place, an alleged over dependence on the National and International media, whose core business is hinged on paid advert and airtime, which invariably result in the portrayal of selected news items and programmes, rather than exclusive and extensive reportage of events.
The statement reads, ‘ This trend RIVPA notes, only exposes the Wike led administration as first and foremost, unfriendly to the Rivers press and also indicates that there might be several secrets his administration is desperately trying to hide.
‘This decision by Rivers State Government not to acknowledge the contributions made by the local media and by extension, the refusal to patronize newspaper owners in the state, is perceived as a calculated attempt to impoverish the sector and make publishers unable to speak the truth.
‘If our doubts are anything to go by, RIVPA, will resist such attempts to bring publishers, who are businessmen and women, saddled with the responsibility of informing and educating the public , to a point where we will close shop or be intimidated and unable to speak for the masses.
‘In 2015, Governor Wike, had promised an open and transparent administration with citizenry participation, but the sad reality is a case of selective exposure to the press and electorate.
‘The Rivers press has never had it so bad, from 1999 during the administration of Dr. Peter Odili through to 2015, when Wike emerged as Governor’, RIVPA opined.
RIVPA reiterated that the business of policy making and interface with the Rivers people can be achieved through a vibrant Rivers based press rather than ‘an arranged and foreign media’. This scenario which could lead to a crack in the information dissemination and gathering chain is an alleged ploy by government to hide policies that are mundane and obvious flaws in the Wike led administration.
The statement advised the state government to retrace its steps from the path of isolation and open up its doors to a robust and vibrant media partnership, which would provide the needed platform for the interface with the electorate in Rivers State.
