The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs has expressed its willingness to work with Media Trust Group (MTG) Limited—publishers of Daily Trust titles and Aminiya, and owners of Trust Tv, Radio and other digital platforms – to promote its activities.
The permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shuaib Belgore, said since its establishment in 2008, the ministry had done a lot to improve the lives of people in the region but had got little publicity.
He spoke during a courtesy visit by the management of Media Trust to the ministry yesterday in Abuja.
He said the mandate of the ministry cut across nine states of Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta Imo, Cross Rivers, Ondo, Rivers and Edo states with projects domiciled under the departments of infrastructure development, housing development, community mobilisation, urban development, empowerment and education and environment.
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“The ministry has been doing a lot of things since it was established in 2008. Between then and now, so much has been done but so little has been published and it is considered that if you don’t talk about what you do, then you have not done it at all,” he said.
While stating that the ministry is focused on the improvement of life in the Niger Delta, Belgore also said it would be appropriate to have some collaboration with Media Trust.
“We will talk towards having focused programmes and reporting of the ministry. We do a lot of programmes to develop the area but the most I am passionate about is the human resource development we do in the region and it is termed under empowerment and education.
“My agenda here is to strengthen this and strengthen the capacity of the region. It is a herculean task but we are committed to work on it. As tough as it may be, it is a nut that has to be cracked,” he added.
On his part, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Media Trust, Mounir Gwarzo, who led the team, said a visit was sought for the ministry’s partnership to help it to deliver its mandate within the Niger Delta.
“The beauty of partnering with us is that you have the opportunity to have different platforms where you can showcase the activities of the Niger Delta, either through the TV, digital, or radio. The partnership between us will be for the benefit of this country and the ministry,” he said.