Umahi's Aide Tasks Journalists On Professional Practice

From Boniface Nwankwo, Abakaliki

Journalists have been urged to place selflessness above material gains in their daily practice in order to contribute to enthronement of a healthy society.

Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Chief Chooks Oko made the call during a Dinner organized by the Correspondent Chapel of NUJ, Ebonyi State Council in honour of Comrade Uchenna Inya who won the National Media Merit Award as the most innovative Reporter of the year 2022 recently.

Chief Oko who congratulated Comrade Inya for scaling through the hurdles to emerge victorious, enjoined other practitioners to make extraordinary efforts in their professional practice in order to write their names in gold.

He congratulated the Correspondent Chapel of the NUJ for the feat and for seeing reasons to celebrate one of their own instead of resorting to jealousy.

"It is not always that colleagues are happy that one of their own won an award in the same business they are doing, most people would be filled with envy but the fact that you agreed to come and sit down here, it gladdens my heart, it means that you are your brother's keepers and it is a wonderful thing in the workplace.

"I want to urge you to keep it up, what has happened to Uche has happened to most of you somehow, it is one of the few prices one gets in Journalism practice. Journalism is good especially if you put your mind to it.

"What Uche has achieved that we are celebrating him, a lot of us can excel and even do better if you put your mind to it, the readers are watching one way or the other.

"I enjoin all of us to please work as hard as we can, it is a profession that can take you to London in the next minute, so I enjoin you to please keep working hard and keep being your brothers' keepers.

"I must not fail to remind you that Governor David Umahi means well for you, means well for Ebonyians and means well for all of us."

The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ,  Ebonyi State Council, Comrade Tony Nwizi, represented by the Council Financial Secretary, Comrade Israel Ekene Mbam and Chairman of the Correspondent Chapel, Comrade Samson Nwafor applauded the awardee for his exceptional commitment to professional practice, and wished him more exploits in the profession.

Other Speakers, the Vice Chairman, Secretary and Ex-officio member of NUJ, Ebonyi State Council, Comrades Nnamdi Akpa, Benjamin Nworie and Felix Uka congratulated the awardee on the feat achieved and commended the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Strategy for identifying with the Chapel in their moment of celebration.

Responding, the awardee, Comrade Uchenna Inya, lauded the Special Assistant to the Governor, members of the Correspondent Chapel and his other professional colleagues for the solidarity,  assuring that the award would spur him to greater productivity.