By Gambo Abubakar, Kaduna
Correspondents representing media organisations owned by the governments of Kano, Sokoto and Zamfara states have expressed dissatisfaction after they were denied access to cover the meeting of the Northern States Governors’ Forum held in Kaduna, despite the attendance of their respective governors.
The affected journalists include Mustapha Saye of Abubakar Rimi Television (ARTV) and Triumph Newspaper, Kano State; Gbenga Oloniyo of The Path Newspaper, Sokoto State; and Gambo Abubakar of Legacy Newspaper, Zamfara State.
Speaking on the development, Mustapha Saye described the situation as a growing pattern of exclusion of journalists from covering major government and public events in Kaduna State.
He questioned why correspondents representing Northern state-owned media organisations were denied access to cover a regional meeting involving their governors.
“It is unfortunate that many journalists have witnessed an unhealthy trend where, during major assignments, only a few selected journalists are allowed to cover important events, while others are consistently left out,” Saye said.
According to him, the practice represents a departure from the tradition of inclusiveness that previously characterised journalism practice in Kaduna State.
“In the past, journalists in Kaduna State did not experience this kind of exclusion. The profession was more inclusive, giving media practitioners equal opportunities to carry out their responsibilities,” he added.
Saye also expressed concern over what he described as the silence of the Kaduna State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) on the issue.
“To the best of my understanding, the Kaduna State Council has remained silent on this disturbing development instead of addressing it. Such silence only raises more concerns among media professionals,” he said.
He appealed to the governors of Kano, Sokoto and Zamfara states, as well as other relevant authorities and stakeholders in the media industry, to intervene and ensure fairness, professionalism and equal access for accredited journalists covering public events.
“I sincerely hope the relevant authorities will look into this issue in the interest of fairness, professionalism and unity within the journalism profession,” Saye stated.
Also speaking, Gambo Abubakar of Legacy Newspaper said the incident was not an isolated one, alleging that correspondents of some Northern state-owned media organisations had repeatedly been denied access to cover important government assignments in Kaduna.
According to him, he has reported the latest incident to the Director-General, Media and Publicity to the Zamfara State Governor for necessary action.
