…Raises Alarm over State Rising Debt Profile
Journalists in Plateau State have called on Gov. Simon Lalong to use his position as Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) to impress on relevant authorities to increase supply of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to the state to reduce the hardships being faced by motorists and commuters in the state.
Rising from its congress meeting on Thursday in Jos, the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, members also expressed worry over the rising debt profile of the state and tasked government to look at other sources of generating more revenue to finance its activities.
In an 11-point communique issued at the end of the meeting, the members of the pen profession demanded for the payment of weigh-in-allowances to journalists under its employment.
Disturbed by the indiscriminate dumping of refuse within the state capital, the Congress called on the authorities to ensure its regular evacuation so as not to pose threats to public health.
Council also expressed worry over cases of motor accidents during campaign rallies and advised political parties to prioritize traffic safety to forestall future occurrence.
The journalists stressed the need to strengthen the laws on Violence Against Persons Prohibition (VAPP) by coming up with the “Sexual Assault Committee” and urged the State Government to establish safe homes where children who are victims of different forms of violence could be catered for and rehabilitated pending their reintegration into the society.
Council also frowned at the unabated spate of kidnappings, especially in the central zone of Plateau State, and other areas as well the rising cases of car theft and hijacking and called on security agencies to do more to curb the ugly trend.
They, however, commended the State Command of the Nigeria Police and other security agencies as well as volunteer guards for providing safety to citizens during festivities and emphasized the need for the creation of state police to compliment the efforts of the conventional security agencies. On the indiscriminate use of press stickers by some members of the public who are not journalists, the Congress appealed to relevant authorities to always demand for identification from anyone bearing PRESS stickers on their cars to help curb their abuse.