Kogi Central Journalists’ Guild, an umbrella body of Kogi Central journalists in the diaspora, has called for equal representation in Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo’s media team.
The guild made their displeasure known in a statement signed by its president, Muhammad Tijani Abdulsalam, and secretary Ozumi Abdul a copy made available to press in Kano.
The body however decried the total exclusion of its members from the recent appointments of Special Advisers (SAs), and Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) by the governor, questioning the modalities used for the appointments without consideration for its single member.
The guild stressed the need for the governor to build his Crisis Management Team on a tripod of Kogi Agenda, as the present composition has marginalized the Central Senatorial District of the state.
It reminded the governor of the huge sacrifices and contributions of their members in not just enthroning his government, but also projecting the affairs of his government in positive lights
The guild warned that failing to reward people who worked for him to be elected as Kogi governor is a recipe for disloyalty.
It also rued the governor’s decision to recycle aides of the immediate past government, which it said fed glutonously, but failed to contribute meaningfully to it in terms of its crisis and image management.
“It’s however surprising that an ethnic group that boasts of several pull of talented journalists and public relations experts, where the governor comes from is overlooked in the appointments of his CPS and media aides.
“The most laughable and mocking of it all is that the governor upon his assumption of office, in his very first day picked a man without journalism or PR background as his Chief Press Secretary. The said man’s background is said to be student unionism and advocacy. Then we ask, who adviced the governor to toe that erroneous administrative path in his very first day, when Ebira nation boasts of seasoned and veteran professionals?
“We ask again, is it that we are the proverbial angels who are not valued at home, but valued away from home, because it’s surprising we were also neglected by the immediate past administration of Alhaji Yahaya Bello, and still suffering the same fate in this government?, the statement reads in part.