The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, has charged journalists in Nigeria to uphold accuracy and professional standards, warning media men not to allow rapid technological advancement, and technology to replace truth and fairness.
Idris gave the charge during the commissioning of a newly installed modern government printing press in Calabar Cross River State, on Thursday, I saying that the faster information travels, “the greater the period we must place on verification.” “Technology may change the tools of journalism, but it cannot replace truth,” the minister stated. “It should be a centre for credible journalism, digital innovation, professional development and meaningful public engagement.” Addressing young journalists and communication professionals at the new hub, Idris urged them to embrace new tools without abandoning core ethics. “Embrace technology, but do not abandon professional standards. Be firm, but also be accurate. Be competitive, but also remain ethical. Above all, guard your credibility,” he said. The minister stressed that ahead of the 2027 elections, the media has a critical role to play in safeguarding democracy. “Journalists must interrogate claims verified before publishing and resist the occasion to sacrifice accuracy for speed or sensationalism,” he said. He urged journalist not to allow their political affiliation to displace professional judgment. He called on political actors and citizens “to place national unity above sectional, ethnic or religious considerations” but to “resist disinformation, hate speech, incitement and narratives deliberately calculated to turn Nigerians against one another.” Idris said the new printing press is commissioned to restore confidence in the media and preserve government records. “Today is about much more than opening a building or provisioning equipment… It is about restoring an institution, preserving institutional memory and renewing confidence in the newspaper profession,” he said. He commended Governor Prince Bassey Otu for “giving this vital sector the attention it deserves,” noting that “at a time that many newspapers are dying… you are indeed breathing life into this sector.” The minister added that in the digital age, “official documentation remains indispensable. Laws, gazettes, white papers, reports and public reports must be properly produced, secured and preserved.” “A government that does not preserve its records risks losing its history. A people who do not document their journey leave others to tell their story for them,” Idris said. He concluded by congratulating the Cross River State Government and urged the management of the new information hub to sustain investment in training for editors, printers and communication professionals. In his remarks Cross River State governor , Bassey Otu, who said reactivation involved procuring “state-of-the-art printing machines” and renovating the complex vandalized during the 2020 EndSARS protest, charged the editorial board to develop a Critical Response Initiative to counter misleading information and to “always verify facts before publication.” He urged the newspaper to propagate his administration’s development milestones and to “revive the interest of the reading public through accurate and responsible reportage.”
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