….. Lauds Ekiti NUJ on Holding Political Leaders Accountable
A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Bimbo Daramola has tasked journalists to continue to discharge their duties with utmost integrity and hold public office holders accountable as enshrined in the Nigeria constitution.
Delivering a lecture titled Ekiti, Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow, organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists as part of activities to mark her 2025 Press week dinner and award night, Daramola explained that media remains a critical institution that can guarantee growth and development of any society through her reportage.
He explained that though, Ekiti State still has a long way to go, Governor Biodun Oyebanji has made tremendous impacts and recorded remarkable achievements that have pushed the state to a better height.
The former house of representatives members affirmed that if journalists ask the right questions and hold Politicians accountable for their actions, such would prompt them to respect the profession and service with consciousness.
He commended the leadership of NUJ for coming up with the performance survey on National Assembly members from Ekiti which was held in partnership with the Justice Development and Peace Initiative (JDPI).
He said, “Society cannot be built by Politicians alone, every politician is also a member of the society. If the policians appointed to positions are not doing their job, the people who elected them should be to wake up and challenge them.
“I heard that an NGO affiliated with the Catholic Church has partnered with NUJ to be monitoring projects of politicians across the state, that’s very commendable.
“So, partnership with a vibrant Union like NUJ, you begin to inspect the projects of legislators, we are asking them questions about constituency projects, what happened to this money? What happened to that money? If we are not doing that, politicians will forever take you for granted and the consequences of bad people in power will affect the profession”.
Earlier, Governor of Ekiti State, Biodun Oyebanji called on journalists across the state to be more professional and embrace fair electoral reportage as Ekiti prepares for 2026 gubernatorial election.
Oyebanji, who commended the Journalists for being partners in progress with the state government urged them to be fair in their electoral reportage so that all political parties and individuals can reach out to the people so as to enable them to vote out of informed decisions.
Oyebanji, represented by his Special Adviser on Media, Yinka Oyebode expressed his delight at the honour, while also reiterating the commitment of the Governor to look into the demands of the Union, which according to him is among the priority list of his Principal.
Highpoint of the event was the presentation of awards of excellence to the Governor.
Other Awardees at the event include the President of Customary Court of Appeal, Ekiti State, Justice Monisade Abodunde, Vice Chancellor of Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti (EKSU), Professor Joseph Ayodele, Former House of Representatives Member, Bimbo Daramola and Managing Director of Delko Holding Ltd, Olufemi Aluko.
Another highlight of the event was presentation of awards to journalists who have performed excellently well in the course of their profession.