Oyetola Cautions Journalists against Sensational Reporting

Yinka Kolawole

The Osun State Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has advised journalists on the need to always verify their stories before going to press and shun sensational reporting in their daily activities.

He called on them to uphold the ethics of their profession by being objective, balanced and fair in their reportage of events.

The governor stated these at an interactive session with journalists at his house in Iragbiji, Boripe Local Government Area of the state.

Oyetola, who described the media as a critical element to good governance, implored journalists to always strive to justify the confidence members of the public reposed in them through the quality of their reports.

The governor, who also seized the occasion to reel out some of his administration achievements in the last eight months, said his administration has given every sector of the economy adequate attention.

He also commended the journalists in the state for being supportive of his administration through fair and balanced reporting.

According to him, “Your role in the development of our state has been very critical. In our own little way, we have been trying our best in line with our campaign promises to improve on the lives of our people.

“I must acknowledge your role at giving the best coverage to our good works across all sectors, most importantly the kind of media coverage that we received during the ‘litigation’. Though we had some issues with the media in the past, I thank God that we have started on a good note.

“I must also commend you for reporting us fairly. We have been working assiduously to improve on the welfare of our people. Our administration has maintained standard in all sectors of the economy particularly in the areas of health, infrastructure, education and mining.

“We are also striving hard to revive the tourism sector in such a way that its potential will be properly tapped for the benefit of the state and our people.

“We are formulating ‘mining regulatory policy’ to help combat illegal mining in the state, and to achieve this goal, I have written to the Inspector General of Police (IG), the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Staff to the president to ensure that mining is properly regulated for the betterment of all.”