PORT HARCOURT – The National President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Malam Mohammed Garba, has described the late former president of the union, Mr Ndagene Akwu, as a patriot and core professional.
Garba stated this in Port Harcourt, Rivers, at a candle light procession and tributes for the Akwu on Thursday night.
He said that the late former NUJ president promoted professionalism in journalism in the country through seminars and workshops, including hosting the Conference of African Journalists in Abuja in 2007.
“Participants from 20 African countries and from the International Federation of Journalists attended the conference which gave birth to the Federation of African Journalists,’’ he said.
In her remarks at the ceremony, the Commissioner for Information and Communication in Rivers, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, said the demise of Akwu on June 19, was a great loss to journalism profession and the state.
Represented by Mr Paulinus Nsirim, a Director in the ministry, Semenitari said that the state government would set up an education endowment fund in memory of the departed journalist.
She urged media practitioners in the country to emulate the virtues of the former president of the union in the discharge of their duties.
Also speaking, the pioneer chairman of the NUJ in Rivers, Chief Wofuru Okparaole, extolled the virtues of Akwu, saying his legacies would endure for a long time. [eap_ad_2] He urged journalists to adhere to professional ethics in their duties to the society.
A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ogbonna Nwuke, who attended the ceremony, identified the training of journalists and hosting of the Conference of African Journalists as some of the achievements by late Akwu.
“Ndagene Akwu became a worthy ambassador who had a mission for the NUJ. We should ensure that the legacies he left behind are sustained,” he said.
Nwuke, who represents Etche-Omuma constituency, also commended the Rivers Government for its decision to inaugurate an education endowment fund in memory of the deceased.
Akwu, who was NUJ president from 2006 to 2009, will be buried in Port Harcourt on Aug. 2. (NAN)[eap_ad_3]