By Daniel Tyokua
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has urged Journalists in the territory to ignite grassroots development through news stories that would pave way for development.
The Mandate Secretary, FCT Area Council Services Secretariat (ACSS), Ibrahim Abubakar Dantsoho, stated this during his paper presentation at the 2022 FCT Minister’s Press Corps retreat held in Bauchi state.
He said that the media plays complementary role in governance, and there was the need not to relent on discharging its constitutional role as the third eye of the society.
Dantsoho stressed the importance of an effective participatory of the media professionals and other citizenry in the democratic process especially at the rural level through critical reporting of activities of the six Area Councils in the Territory.
The mandate Secretary who was represented by Director, Area Council Services Secretariat I’ll Chieftaincy matters, Awwal Manu Dogon-Daji, said: “democracy requires that people should have right to know the activities of government, especially the decision of government that
affects their life, liberty and property.
“Information is important for
people to make choices regarding their participation in the state.
Sufficient information helps people to decide rationally and take the
right course of action beneficial to them. Media-both print and electronic, thus help to know what is happening around.
“Citizens and civil society engagement, to demand and promote good governance can improve by and large the viability of good governance and anti corruption programme because the
success of democracy is impossible without participation of the people”.
According to him, the residents need to continually engage
the Area Council Administration for inclusiveness, commend where necessary and demand explanation when needed.
This, he said undoubtedly, will spur the democratically elected chairmen to
leave up to their responsibilities.
Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to FCT Minister on Monitoring, Inspection and Enforcement, Ikharo Attah, in his paper, urged media professionals to always be aware of the enormous power they possess, and use it for the good of the society.
