The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) has thrown its weight behind the recent assessment of the Buhari-led government by The Punch Group of Newspapers.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, December 12, 2019 and signed by its national secretary, Shuaibu Usman Leman, the umbrella body of Nigerian journalists said NUJ believes the assessment done by the front line national newspaper was not done in bad faith but should rather be seen as part of the constitutional function of the fourth estate of the realm to hold the government of the day accountable to the masses.

“NUJ believes that the front page comment of The Punch of Wednesday, December 11, 2019 which assessed President Muhammadu Buhari and his leadership style was not done in bad faith, but should rather be seen as an attempt to hold Government accountable as enshrined in chapter 2, section 22 of the Nigerian Constitution,” the statement said.

Continuing, NUJ said, “While some may not necessarily support the choice of language used in the editorial, but we are quick to note that this should not be enough excuse to accuse The Punch of habouring ulterior motives.

“It is our contention that the media must be allowed to carry out such responsibilities by insisting on good governance which include among others, rule of law, transparency, equity and inclusiveness and accountability. Anything short of these may not augur well for our democracy.

“We thus consider the said editorial not as an attempt to scold Government, but to hold leaders accountably for their actions or inactions especially as they relate to the rule of law which should never be viewed as “an exceedingly elusive notion,” added the statement.

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