Clement Adeyi, Osogbo
Osun State House of Assembly, yesterday, began screening of cabinet nominees submitted to it last week by Governor Gboyega Oyetola.
Managing Director of New Telegraph Newspaper and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), Mrs. Funke Egbemode was one of the nominees screened.
Asked how she would manage the Information Ministry with regard to adequate good media for the state as well as the challenge of social media menace and penchant for negative reports if appointed as the commissioner for Information, Egbemode said she would apply her professional journalism acumen in ensuring proper reportage of government activities.
“Professionalism and relationship with media managers, particularly editors as well as state correspondents is key. The best way to go about it is to ensure that we maintain a robust relationship with them. Some people think that media people are enemies. They are not.
“They have the mandate to set agenda and endure social responsibility in the discharge of their duties. Once we make them our friends and endure proper relationship, then things would augur well. Then government’s interests would be well represented,” she said.
She promised to ensure that social media practitioners currently referred to as citizen journalists but who are not professionals are beaten to the game of bad media against government.
She said the best approach was creation of news bulletin for the state whereby all government activities would be highlighted and reported.
This, she added, would provide media contents from where other traditional media would generate their reports.
She added that the strategy would ensure authenticity and credibility of government’s activities so much that if any social media carried any reports outside the state’s news bulletin, it would not enjoy credibility and would be disregarded by the reading public.
Egbemode also promised to ensure commitment to service of not only the people of her constituency but also the entire state in the area of provision of the dividends of democracy.
In a welcome address, Speaker, Timothy Owoeye, assured that the assembly would do a thorough job on the screening of the nominees who would, afterwards, be appointed as commissioners and special advisers.
During plenary, the speaker said the House was not oblivious of the fact that the nominees would have gone through different levels of security checks.
He assured that aside such checks, the House will not shy away from its constitutional responsibility.
“It is on record that Governor Oyetola has sent a list of 35 persons to be screened as commissioners/special advisers. Myself and my colleagues at the Assembly have resolved not to betray the confidence reposed in us by the public.”
“We are not unmindful of other screenings that might have taken place before now, but the state house of assembly is constitutionally saddled with the final screening.