Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has disclosed the reason behind the blacklisting of some journalists from the governor’s office.
According to the governor who spoke via his verified Tweeter handle, he hinted that unpaid debt to the affected media houses was the reason for the eviction, stating that the government would not be held to ransom.
“No war here. I’ve benefited from a vibrant media as NBA President, I won’t change now as Governor. All media houses can cover our activities whenever & however they seem fit.
“We will nonetheless not be held to ransom over unpaid debt to media houses by the previous administration,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, the claim of the governor has contradicted that of the Commissioner for Information, Yemi Olowolabi.
In a press statement issued earlier by the commissioner who was alleged to have masterminded the eviction of the correspondents of Channels TV, AIT and Core TV from the governor’s office last week Friday over the stance of the reporters of not doing the bidding of the commissioner by reporting stories favourable to the state government, he described the affected journalists as “impostors” and “parasites”
The statement reads, “For the record, we have not expelled any journalist from the Governor’s office. What we did was to rid the place of impostors and parasites parading themselves as professional journalists.
“The standard practice in Government House Press coverage is to accredit journalists who cover the beat. And no duly accredited Government House reporter has been barred from covering the daily activities of the Governor.
“My office was inundated with serial complaints about professional misconduct by some ‘journalists’ who turned the newsroom in the Governor’s office to beer parlour, gambling station and blackmailers’ hideout. Some of these complaints were investigated and were found out to be true.
“In fact, I have received complaints from some important guests who were made to pay for interviews and news items that were never used on any channel.
“Also, most of the whimsical stories trending on the social media are anchored on the purported sack of AIT and Channels TV’s reporters from the Government House. Again, there is a procedure that guides the engagement and disengagement of reporters from all the broadcast stations that are working with us. Duly signed official letters are usually sent to the broadcast stations headquarters to convey our intentions to their management. Our last official communication with the stations was in April 2017.
“Another twist to this fairy tale is the reckless innuendo that we sacked some reporters from the Government House because they were writing negative stories. This is a preposterous account bereft of logic and rationalisation. For instance, in the last one year, the Channels TV’s reporters here have not filed a single story on the activities of the Governor, either positive or negative. I challenge them to contradict this position.
“Yet the ‘journalists’ stay in the Governor’s office from morning to night every day. Doing what? This was the simple question we asked. Their answer is the syndicated blackmail designed to frustrate the sanitisation of the Government House Press Crew which is in utter danger of vulgarisation,” the statement read.
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