Oyo State governor, 'Seyi Makinde, has charged media practitioners to be transparent in discharging their duties as the watchdog of the society, noting that journalists must hold political office holders accountable in the interest of the public.

The governor stated this on Thursday at the opening ceremony of a 3-day retreat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Press Corps, with the theme: 'Role of the Media in Fostering Development in a Multi-party Democracy,' taking place at the Eleventh House Hotel and Suites, Jericho, Ibadan.

Governor Makinde, who spoke through his Chief Press Secretary/Special Adviser on Media, Dr Sulaimon Olanrewaju, maintained that the media is the fulcrum of the society and its watchdog, adding that "the media is supposed to hold those in government accountable."

He explained that pursuing public interest fosters development, emphasising that the media must ensure that its roles and platforms are neither controlled by those in power nor abused by media practitioners themselves.

He said: ?The media plays a critical role in development by holding those occupying public offices accountable, serving as the watchdog for the society.

"If you don?t hold people accountable, they may do whatever they like and may not pursue public interest. And public office holders, appointed or elected, are meant to work in the interest of the public.

?So, when the media does its job and holds those in political offices accountable, the likelihood of them working in the interest of the public is high.

?On the other hand, the media too must hold its members accountable, because the space the media is holding is the public space and the media is holding it in trust for the people. So, there won?t be development if the media fails to work in the interest of the public."

According to the governor, transparency and accountability from public office holders will result in development, which is the ultimate goal of the media and the wish of the society.

He noted that his government recognised the need for transparency and that it took the decision to build strong institutions and also create a feedback system to enable the citizens of the state to participate in governance.

Fielding questions from newsmen shortly after the first session of the retreat, Dr Olanrewaju said Governor Makinde's transparent leadership has helped Oyo State to achieve accelerated and sustainable development across the security, education, health and economic sectors.

?Few years ago, bank robbery was rampant in Ibadan. But in the last four years, there has not been any record of a bank robbery. That didn?t happen by accident. It happened because the Governor took some steps. This speaks to the efficiency of the system the governor deployed to tackle security challenges.

?Truly, there will be challenges but the responsibility of leadership is to rise up to the challenges and Governor Makinde keeps rising to every challenge that arises in Oyo State. Most of the time, he is proactive and goes ahead to put measures in place to ensure those challenges are tackled as they arise.

?In Oyo State, we don?t believe in palliatives, because they are a placebo. What we do is to look at the root cause and address the challenges head on.

?When this economic hardship started, the governor did not give palliatives as some states did. All we did was to sit down and examine the causes of the problems and we addressed them.

"What were the issues? Food prices were going up and people were finding it difficult to move about. The governor came up with the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER), and under that programme the state planned to increase food production by giving support to farmers.

?The Governor gave over N1bn to support farmers in the state. He gave another N1bn to SMEs, because the focus is about economic recovery and not palliatives. It was something that would ensure the growth of the economy.

"He gave Health Insurance to the old and retired people. He gave support to students to go on buses at half of the normal price. So, those were the interventions the governor did. We did not give palliatives in Oyo State; we gave support that would lead to economic recovery and growth."

Earlier in his welcome remarks, the chairman, PDP Press Corps, Mr Samuel Ogidan, said the retreat aimed at engaging the participants deeply in conversations and training that would equip them to meet the rising demands and complexities of political reporting, especially in the age of digital disruption.

Ogidan, who described Governor Makinde as a visionary leader with a passion for transformational governance, lauded his efforts in improving infrastructure and impacting other sectors.

He added that the governor's leadership capacity has brought remarkable progress and growth to the people of Oyo State.

He equally commended the governor for being a media-friendly governor who understands the role of free and responsible journalism in strengthening democracy, fostering transparency and empowering citizens.

Ogidan charged the participants to make judicious use of the retreat for their growth, reflection, and empowerment in sharpening their skills in investigative reporting, learning new skills for adequate reporting to navigate the challenges of journalism and continuing to uphold the values of integrity, accuracy and objectivity in their field.

In his goodwill message, the Assistant Director Publicity, PDP Headquarters, Mr Richard Ihediwa, also commended the governor for supporting the organisation of the retreat.

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