Former governor of old Anambra state, Senator Jim Nwobodo, has called on journalists and newsmen to ensure that they always fed the public with verified stories and to avoid falsehood and misrepresentation of facts at all times.
Nwobodo said that to do so, the media stood the risk of losing credibility in the eyes of the masses.
To eschew losing credibility, therefore, Nwobodo, a former publisher of Satellite Newspaper, counseled journalists at all times to be sure of the source of their story before going public.
The former Minister of Youths and Sports, gave the advice at his country home Amechi Awkunanaw in Enugu South local government area of Enugu state Tuesday evening while reacting to the report that had gone viral that the governorship candidate of the PDP Enugu, Barrister. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, presented a forged certificate of NYSC to INEC and therefore was not qualified to run for any elective office because of the fraud.
Recall that a group that goes by the name “Total Support for Rule of Law and Justice Initiative and Enugu Progressive Forum,” TSRLJIE, on Monday approached a media organisation in Abuja during which they granted a press conference and insisted that Mbah is not fit to run.
Nwobodo, therefore, prayed journalists not to indulge in falsehood or misrepresentation of fact in order not to mislead the public.
He said that he was struck by the news and drew Mbah’s attention to the allegation but he told him that he did his NYSC after graduation.
“When I heard the news, I was touched and I could him and he told me that it was not true. I urge you people to always report with facts,” he urged journalists.
The former governor who was surrounded during the press chat by party chieftains including the state PDP chairman and the campaign manager of Mbah campaign, Chief Ikeja Asogwa, enjoined the NUJ to sanction journalists that present false reports for ulterior motive.
When he was reminded that the story did not emanate from newsmen in Enugu, Nwobodo still insisted that news should be verified before going public to avoid a collosal damage to people’s image.
He regretted that Mbah could not come to his house for the press interaction to give the true fact of the supposed allegation.
