Lanre Onilu, NOA DG
Director-General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Lanre Issa-Onilu, has encouraged media practitioners to introduce probing of manifestoes of aspiring political office holders as part of their responsibilities to reshape the country from frivolous and unfulfilled promises.
On his part, the Editor-in-Chief and Chief Operating Officer of Premium Times, Mr. Muskilu Mojeed, called on the Nigerian government to provide sustained support for professional journalists, emphasizing their critical role in bridging the gap between campaign promises and governance realities.
Both Issa-Onilu and Mojeed spoke as a panelists at the 9th annual conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP), with the theme, “Reconciling Campaign Promises with Governance Realities: Challenges and Prospects,” held at the Radisson Blu hotel in Ikeja, Lagos
According to the NOA boss, some of the so-called manifestos are not originally from those who presented but the party they belong to, and they end up subscribing to such manifestos, stressing that as media practitioners this should be probed.
‘Some people proposed manifestos which are not theirs, but party manifestos. They end up subscribing to their party manifestos. As journalists, we do not question manifestos, but populated airtime for other things’
He equally pointed out that the manifesto of the federal government is the manifesto that governed Lagos state, explaining that the National Orientation Agency(NOA) is to communicate government projects.
The Director-General added that government require value documentation, recalling that before he joined the agency, he was among those who said it should be scrapped, but when he got there, he discovered that the staff there are committed
‘Before I went to NOA. I was among those who said it should be scrapped. It is not the Agency’s problem but a Nigerian problem. When I got there, I discovered that the staff there are committed
‘I am an agency under a Ministry. There is the problem of the need to have them buy into what I want to do. I am lucky to get the support of the president who is interested in the unity of the country’, he stated.
Musikilu Mojeed
According to Mojeed, despite the indispensable role of the media in democracy, government support remains minimal.
“The government hardly gives us support. The fact is, everyone needs the media, especially when in power and even more when out of power,” he stated.
The award-winning journalist stressed that the media must be empowered to effectively serve as the voice of the people and watchdog of society.
While acknowledging the palliatives extended to some media houses during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly through debt waivers, Mojeed argued that such gestures were not enough and urged the government to do more to strengthen the sector.
He also decried the poor quality of leadership in the country, noting that many politicians come into office unprepared for the responsibilities of governance.
“There’s a clear disconnect between campaign promises and actual delivery,” he lamented.
Mojeed further encouraged journalists to embrace technology and innovation, describing them as vital tools for enhancing accountability and reinforcing the media’s role in promoting transparency and good governance.
