ABUJA (PWH Ministry’ Report)- The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola has charged Nigerian Journalists with the responsibility of finding strategic solutions that would enable their listeners to differentiate between fake and genuine news in the country.
He made this charge when the Executive Members of the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja recently.
The Minister who described journalists as practitioners of communication and indispensable tools for securing democratic rights and institution, freedom of speech and right to know, said they are faced with the challenge of disseminating genuine news in a season where un-professionalism and fake news have become global issues, therefore, the need for them to put heads together and seek lasting solutions that would enable their listeners identify genuine news when they see one.
Fashola further informed the Council members that the Prototype Phase of the National Housing Programme which has commenced in the 33 states of the country has provided employment opportunities for artisans and professionals in the built environment, adding that it has contributed to improvement in circulation of money, thereby re-investing people with purchasing power because contractors are back on different building sites across the nation.
The Minister further disclosed that the Administration of President Buhari is passionate about reducing the rate of corruption, providing security in the country as well as improving the nation’s economy, adding that government’s efforts in the last two years was geared toward achieving its election promises.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Council and leader of the delegation, Comrade Olawunmi Faniran, said that they have been following Mr. Fashola’s antecedents as two time governor of Lagos state and having watched his impressive inputs as Minister of Power, Works and Housing, since the inception of this administration; the council has come to encourage him to continue the good works he has begun and to officially invite him to the 50th Anniversary of the NUJ Press Centre in Ibadan coming up on the June 12, 2017 where he would also be decorated as the Council’s Man of the Year Award.
