Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Wednesday described as indispensable, the roles of journalists in the promotion of national cohesion and development.
In appreciation, the governor handed two new 18-seater buses over to the leadership of the Kano State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Correspondents Chapel in the state.
“This is (gesture) in appreciation of the contributions of journalists towards promoting peace, unity and development in the country,” he said.
The Association of the Blind People in Nigeria, Kano State chapter, also got a new 18-seater bus from Ganduje.
He described the visually impaired as a very important segment of the society, in spite of their disability.
He hailed the Association of Blind People for discouraging street begging and other societal ills, while promoting skills acquisition, formal education and self-reliance, as they see ability in their disabilities.
He said: “There are various segments of the society, all of which have one thing or the other to do with the government. The Nigerian Union of Journalists is one.
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“The NUJ is a sector of society that is important and plays a major role in governance through its professional task of news reporting and advise it gives which is very important on governance.
“We are providing them with this vehicle not because all of them are from Kano but because they represent national unity.
“I am particularly impressed with the journalists and their intelligence which they displayed during our last parley especially, on the issue of Almajiri which they openly detested.
“Therefore, among some of the issues challenging them in exercising their duty as journalists are lack vehicles and that is why we are donating these buses to them.”
Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba described Governor Ganduje as a media-friendly leader who had supported journalists during his days as Commissioner for Works under the military regime.
Garba recalled that journalists in Kano were receiving such a gesture from the government well after 12 years.
The chairman of Kano Council of the NUJ, Comrade Abbas Ibrahim, appreciated Governor Ganduje for the kind gesture.
“This is historic. It has been 12 years since we had a bus that is now 12 years old and in dilapidated condition,” he said.