August 01, (THEWILL) – Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Ini Ememobong, has tasked journalists in the State to study the ARISE agenda of the present administration for better understanding and reportage.
The Commissioner, who stated this during an interactive session with members of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom State chapter, on Monday, said doing so will enable them to properly key into the implementation processes of the development blueprint of the administration, as it unfolds.
He said that the thoroughly drafted agenda, with action points and timelines clearly stated, has become a social contract between the government and the people of the State.
He hinted that the administration of Pastor Umo Eno is looking forward to the support of the media, through agenda setting, feed-forward and feedback devoid of bias and sentiment.
His words: “People in representative capacity interrogated the document and now accept this document as the working document of this administration. Therefore, the transition between being a private document, the political party agenda to an economic blueprint of the Government is why I am here.
“And very simply, the Government should be judged by this. This has become a social contract and if you read the agenda, you will discover that it is a thoroughly drafted agenda with points and action points, and aspirations clearly listed.
“So, the marketing of this agenda is the duty of the Ministry of Information, but the interrogation of this agenda is the duty of the press and you are well positioned to interrogate.
“You need to know what it stands for, what it represents, what it promises so that you can use it to hold the Government to account.
“So, the ARISE Agenda stands for Agric revolution, Rural Development, Infrastructure, Security, Economics and education. Then you see a lot of drop-downs. There are 18 focal areas that are drawn from these five aspirations.
The Commissioner regretted that vandalism has continued to frustrate Government efforts to develop some rural communities, and tasked the media to consistently advocate for community ownership on projects located in areas of the State.
