News

Minister Calls on Media to Champion Awareness of the Upcoming Citizen Code Charter

Published

3 years ago

December 8, 2023

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Information of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has extended a call for support to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as the government prepares to unveil a groundbreaking Charter on Citizen Code, designed to define and uphold the core values that unite Nigerians while taking into account the nation’s socio-cultural diversities.

The Minister, who stated this in Lagos on Thursday night at the 2nd NUJ Milestone Recognition of Media Icons in Nigeria, said the Charter would seek to entrench in all Nigerians, a balanced understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the greatest black nation on earth.

“Just yesterday, I put together a Committee of renowned experts to work on and finalize a Values Charter for Nigeria, in line with President Tinubu’s desire for true and sustained reorientation of national values and attitudes.

“This new Charter, which will be unveiled by the President early next year, will consist of a Nigerian Promise, and Citizen Codes, defining our core values as Nigerians, while taking into full account our ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversities. It will seek to entrench in all Nigerians a balanced understanding of our rights as well as our responsibilities as citizens of the greatest black nation on earth.

“This Committee has two weeks to submit its final report, and your support as the media will make a huge difference in terms of this assignment. Without you, we will not succeed in this vital mission,” he said.

The Minister, who was represented on the occasion by the Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Dr. Mohammed Bulama, hailed the leadership of the NUJ for nurturing the idea of recognising the invaluable contributions of the pacesetters and icons of the media profession to the development of the country.

“I am also grateful for the honour extended to me to be the chairman of this year’s edition, presiding over the recognition of industry ‘greats’ like Mr. Ray Ekpu, Chief Henry Odukomaiya, Dr. Danladi Bako and Aremo Taiwo Alimi.

“None of them needs any introduction in this esteemed profession of ours, the 4th Realm of the Estate. These are true icons, pioneers, achievers, record-setters and record-breakers, who have not only made their mark on the industry but also raised generations of successful professionals,” he stated.

While calling on the media to emulate the salient attributes of the icons honoured on the occasion, the Minister urged the media professionals to hold governments, politicians, and leaders to account while also being wholly committed to reporting progress and development, as well as playing their part in enlightening and sensitizing citizens to the potential and manifest the greatness of Nigeria.

“Hold us accountable for what we promise and what we do, but also help us in this collective task of building a Nigeria that works for every one of its two hundred million citizens.

“Continually remind us of our pledges and promises, and even our shortcomings, while also applying the same energy towards amplifying and communicating the programs and policies we are putting in place to transform Nigeria,” he said.

Idris said since the assumption of office by the President, he has been implementing painful but inevitable and ultimately beneficial reforms around the petrol subsidy and foreign exchange, social welfare expansion efforts, MSME support programs, tax reforms, food security initiatives, transportation palliatives, support to State Governments among other initiatives.

He said the Federal Government had launched an SME support programme, the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme and Palliative Programs, targeting traders, artisans, transporters, vendors, and creatives with grants and low-cost loans, emphasizing that under the 1 million nano-businesses, the smallest businesses in the country will benefit from grants of N50,000 each, while bigger businesses will be eligible to enjoy access to single-digit-interest loans from a 75 billion naira fund.

Share on Facebook

Politics

APC Alleges Atiku, ADC Plot to Undermine Kaduna Campaign Flag-Off

Published

2 hours ago

October 24, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has accused former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and the African Democratic Congress (ADC) of allegedly orchestrating a disinformation campaign to discredit the party’s presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna on Saturday.

In a statement issued on Saturday, October 24, 2026, the council’s spokesperson, Dele Alake, alleged that the former vice president and the ADC planned to circulate fake news, manipulated documents and doctored videos to undermine the campaign, President Bola Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani and other APC leaders.
Alake claimed that the alleged disinformation campaign involved the use of artificial intelligence, deepfake videos, counterfeit documents and social media platforms to manipulate public opinion.
According to him, the alleged plot had already begun with the circulation of a photograph showing a security vehicle on routine patrol near an APC campaign billboard in Kaduna metropolis.

He alleged that the image was misrepresented to suggest that security personnel had been deployed to protect APC billboards, adding that the narrative was subsequently published by a national newspaper and shared by Atiku on his official social media accounts.

The APC spokesperson further alleged that another document had been circulated online, purportedly showing a letter from Governor Uba Sani to the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council, Senator Abdulaziz Yari, concerning an alleged release of ₦2.3 trillion by the Kaduna State Government to host the rally.

Describing the claim as baseless, Alake questioned the possibility of a state government spending such an amount on a political rally.

He noted that Kaduna State’s budgets for 2024, 2025 and 2026 stood at ₦458.271 billion, ₦790.439 billion and ₦985.9 billion, respectively.

According to him, the combined budgets for the three years amounted to less than ₦2.3 trillion, which he cited as evidence to challenge the claim circulating online.

Alake also alleged that the ADC and Atiku’s supporters were preparing to circulate old, manipulated and deepfake videos during the rally to create the impression of public resentment against the APC.

The council urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and verify information before sharing it, warning against the spread of misleading content on social media and other platforms.It further accused Atiku and the ADC of resorting to what it described as desperate tactics to gain political advantage ahead of future electoral contests.

The allegations were contained in a statement signed by Alake on behalf of the APC Presidential Campaign Council on Saturday.Atiku Abubakar and the ADC’s response to the allegations was not included in the statement.

Share on Facebook