Ahead of 2023, Nigerian journalists warn politicians against destructive politics

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), on Sunday, warned politicians against what they called “politics of destruction” ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The two bodies gave the warning at a special reception by the Crime Reporters Association of Nigeria (CRAN) in honour of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, held in Lagos.

Speaking on the sideline, NUJ National President, Chris Isiguzo, and NGE President, Mustapha Isa, said those bent on undermining winning strategies to score political points should not play with the lives of Nigerians.

Particularly, the NUJ president said: “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our political actors, we don’t need to destroy the country because of politics.

“We have only one country we can call our own, that is Nigeria. We have had leaders in the past, they have come and gone, if they had destroyed the country, there would be no Nigeria today.”

On his part, the NGE president said: “We should not mix politics with the issue of security. When we talk about the security challenges in the country, some governors join us in lamenting, they run to Abuja looking for support.

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“When you ask them, they tell you they are not responsible. So why do they collect security votes monthly?

“We should support those getting it right to continue in that line, and also learn from them, not do everything to puncture our gains at the expense of the people.”

On his part, CRAN President, Mr Sunday Odita, explained that Bello was chosen as one of the association’s patrons because he attached so much importance to security in his state.

Governor Bello was represented at the event by the Kogi State Security Adviser, Commander Jerry Omodara (retd).

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