Minister of Transportation and All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Hopeful, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, has blamed the elites for the country’s woes.
He said this at the 2022 World Press Freedom Day organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom capital.
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“The problem of the country is not the poor man in Akwa Ibom or Rivers; it is not the poor man in the south-east or in the north. It is you and I, the elite,” he said.
He tasked Nigerians to hold politicians accountable for their actions in governance.
Amaechi, who was the special guest of honour at the event, said, “Until we begin to hold every politician, every elite accountable, this country won’t move forward,” he said.
According to him, the elites are shouting restructuring because there is nothing more to share.
“Why you hear restructuring and restructuring every time is because the elites’ consensus on sharing (the resources) is disappearing; it’s because there is nothing to share again because we are broke. The problem facing this country is caused by the elite, including you.”
He also urged media practitioners to support efforts to find resolutions to the nation’s problems through objective, balanced and fair reportage, adding that “freedom comes with responsibility”.
A lecturer at the University of Port Harcourt, Jones Ayuwo, who delivered a lecture said the sustenance of the country’s democracy is dependent on having a free press.
Ayuwo, who spoke on the topic: ‘Journalism Under Digital Siege’, however lamented that the media and government have been relating like cat-and-mouse.
“We must stand against any attempt by government to regulate the internet because if it is regulated, we also are regulated,” he said.
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