By Lizzy Okoji
Abuja – The Presidential Committee on North-East Initiative (PCNI) has appealed to social media actors to use their platforms for effective reportage of the humanitarian situation in the region.
Mr Mohammed Danjuma, PCNI Coordinator, made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja during a meeting with social media actors and communicators on using effective reportage to address humanitarian situation.
Danjuma also urged the new media communicators to imbibe the ethics of facts-based reporting to avoid disseminating untrue information which could spur violence.
According to the PCNI boss, communicators need to be abreast of the situation for correct reportage and breaking news on the humanitarian crises in the North-East on the social media.
He said that PCIN has developed a framework for the reconstruction of the North-east and solicited the support of social media actors as partners in progress.
“The meeting of today with new media communicators is to introduce them to PCNI mandates and invite them on this journey towards the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the Northeast and recovery effort.
“The responsibilities are not only on government actors but a collective effort of the media, international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), NGOs, development partners and the citizens.
“We want them to be properly informed to avoid the kind of situation we have seen in the social media space in the past weeks over mistrusts of government agencies.
“We have developed a very strong framework that engages the society and the media, that is transparent and free, that everybody can have confidence in,’’ Danjuma said.
In a remark, Dr Ayoade Alakija, Chief Humanitarian Coordinator of the Inter-Ministerial Task Force (IMTF), said that the role of social media actors could not be overemphasised
Alakija urged the social media communicators to use their platforms to mobilise the assistance of the international community and humanitarian partners to the severity of Nigeria’s humanitarian crises.
NAN reports that the PCNI was inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari in Oct. 2016 for the reconstruction of the North-east and rehabilitation of victims of insurgency.