17th May, 2012
Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau on Thursday apologised to journalists for government’s failure to address their grievances before their boycott of government activities.
Mr. Abraham Yiljap, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, tendered the governor’s apology at an emergency congress of the Correspondents’ Chapel.The governor pledged to look into all the issues that led to the boycott, including the welfare and security of journalists.
The Plateau Correspondents’ Chapel on Monday resolved to boycott activities of the state government, citing “indifference and insensitivity to their plight’’.
The commissioner said: “We have missed the Correspondents’ Chapel in the coverage of our activities; we are pained and it’s regrettable.“We are not here to defend ourselves but to apologise for any wrongdoing. I must acknowledge we are members of one family, and anything that hurts any member of the family is regrettable. “
“The government of Plateau appreciates your contributions towards building a better Plateau. Without you, the redemption of the state wouldn’t have been possible. Nobody would have heard outside Plateau what we are doing.”
Jang said that the government respected the decision taken by the journalists but described it as embarrassing.He noted the chapel’s decision would only pave way for a better relationship between government and the correspondents.
The chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Mr Yemi Kosoko, told the governor’s representative that his members’ decision was to enable the government to know their plight. “Our actions were taken in order to let the government know some germane issues that affect us in the course of discharging our duties on the Plateau,’’ he said. Kosoko announced the suspension of the boycott and urged his members to return to their beats.