The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, has urged Nigerians to take part in promoting the positive events in the country.
The minster made the call while speaking at the 7th Annual Conference of The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Abuja.
“We all have a collective responsibility to protect this country in a good light,” Idris said.
He said GOCOP has a responsibility to ensure credibility among its members to curb the spread of fake news and information.
The ministry also pleaded with Nigerians to start trusting public officeholders and elected officials.
He described as regrettable, situations where some Nigerians seem not to trust and believe in the leaders they elected into power, especially when the leaders make statements.
“We, under the administration of President Bola Tinubu will make sure that we return credibility to the business of government communication in this country. Even, if that is the only thing that you achieve, you would have done something great, but to do that, it is not only the responsibility of those in position of leadership. It is for those, who are reporting government businesses, and as well, that is where the relevance of GOCOP is. And you have the responsibility to report only the truth and also help government officials to always tell the truth,” the minister said.
He explained that over the years, there has been gradual erosion of trust and confidence in leaders that people themselves have elected.
He said there was need for the people to trust those they elected into office, adding, “that is the only way they can hold those in power accountable when they go overboard.
“Again, GOCOP has a great responsibility to make sure that the menace of fake news is being eliminated. This can be done through your peer review mechanism. Once something is reported from a credible medium or platform, there is that high tendency that it will be acceptable. If you say, you want foreign investment and growth of Nigeria, then you must be prepared to project the country to achieve all these. Nobody will do it for us.
“We all have a collective responsibility to ensure we return credibility to our country. So, many good things are happening in Nigeria today, Let the cup be half full all the time, not half empty, please.”
The conference with theme: “Nigeria: Roadmap for Socio-Economic Recovery and Sustainability” was organised by GOCOP under the leadership of its President, Maureen Chigbo.
The panelists included Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), Yakubu Ochefu; Special Adviser to the President (Policy Coordination) Hadiza Bala-Usman, and Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Assets Management Ltd, Johnson Chukwu.
(NAN)
