President Buhari’s Visit To Plateau, Many Journalists Denied Access For Coverage, As Lalong Set To Commission Jang Projects

Yakubu Busari

 

The Thursday scheduled visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Plateau State has seen many journalists in plateau denied access for coverage of the event.

 

Most practicing Journalists in Plateau State were excluded from the media coverage of President Buhari’s Visit to Jos for commissioning of projects initiated by the former governor Jonah Jang and inspects under heavy tight security, it was gathered that many of the media were rejected for their objectivity.

 

When sought to know why only 15 Press tags were provided for the over Two hundred journalists practicing in the state, the leadership said since the event was to be transmitted life other Journalists could stay at home and monitor it, while those in the television houses only their camera men were allowed to cover.

 

Many Journalists who were denied the coverage expressed shock that such a National event ‎could be handled without regard to their Constitutional responsibilities.

 

Journalists who were hindered from covering the Visit stormed the NUJ press Centre lamenting on the circumstances.

 

They wondered how a Camera man can only be allowed to cover the event without his reporter, noting that such is irregularity is bad in the practice of the profession.

 

Surprisingly, the leadership of the state Council who were made part of the committee by the state government failed to protect interest of its members.

 

They committee ordered such Journalists to monitored the event from the live Broadcast in local station.

 

It was also gathered that the deliberate exclusion of majority ‎of journalist may not be due to not having any anything tangible to show to the outside world by Lalong government.

 

Concerning the scheduled town hall meeting, it was further gathered that only the Council Chairman was given a press tag who incidentally is a member of the committee.