The National President, Association of Practitioners of Community Media in Nigeria, Mr Abayomi Adejumo, has expressed the readiness of the group to work with the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to help bring the government much closer to the grassroots.
Adejumo and the group’s Public Relations Officer, Oloyede Sunday, made this known in an open letter they both signed, titled, ‘Letter of congratulations and introduction of community media to governance in Lagos State’ a copy of which was made available to Saturday PUNCH.
While congratulating the governor for his victory at the March 18 election, the statement noted that the governor’s first term as governor would not have experienced some “not-too-pleasant” feedback if the government worked “in tandem and closely with community media to create a seamless link between the leaders and residents of the state”.
The statement added, “As practitioners of community media, which is closer to the grassroots in all the 57 Local Government Areas and Local Council Development Areas, we followed the developments preceding the election that finally led to your victory.
“Despite all the avoidable hurdles, we played major roles in cascading all the people-focused projects executed under your administration to the communities we serve.
“In Lagos State, community media practitioners have critical roles to play in enhancing governance by providing information and fostering dialogue between citizens and government officials. We provide platforms for citizens’ engagement on issues of concern and to hear directly from government officials about policies and programmes of the administration.”
The group said as the governor had begun his second term, it believed in his capacity to deliver good governance and his promise of a Greater Lagos.
It said the group was ready to partner with his administration through in-depth coverage of issues and events at the grass roots, especially those that might not receive much attention from larger media outlets.
Adejumo also expressed readiness to work with the governor to ‘cover government activities’.
The statement added, “We anticipate that your administration will maximise our spaces for citizen engagement through which information about government policies, projects and programmes will be disseminated unhindered.
“We also request that ministries, departments and agencies under your administration utilise our platforms in engaging with citizens about their activities.”
