Ex-NUJ boss, Chief Fidel Onyeneke, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for conferring the prestigious National Honour of Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) on the President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Chief Chris Isiguzo.
Onyeneke, a former Chairman of NUJ, Imo State Council, made the commendation while speaking with newsmen in Owerri on Wednesday.
He described the honour as a “recognition of the crucial role of the media towards the socio-political and economic growth of the country”.
He said that the honour had portrayed President Buhari as a media-friendly leader, who attached great importance to hard work and meritocracy.
Onyeneke explained that Isiguzo deserved the award for adding more dignity to the image of NUJ, as well as for enhancing the status of media practitioners in the country.
According to him, NUJ under the present dispensation, has set the appropriate agenda in enhancing the growth of democracy in the country.
“The media has continued to act as a veritable link between the Government and the governed.
“Also, the journalists have not derilicted in their crucial responsibility of exposing the ills of the society,” he said.
While congratulating the NUJ President, Onyeneke observed that the giant strides of Isiguzo in the office earned him his recent emergence as the President of the Confederation of African Journalists, among others.
Onyeneke stated that under Chief Usiguzo, more journalists had been exposed to training and retraining programs within and outside the country.
He urged Isiguzo, who was the second South Easterner to lead NUJ at National level, to see the Honour as a motivation for greater services to the country and the journalism profession.
He further advised Isiguzo to remain a role model to the up-coming journalists.
“Make more efforts to ensure that the Nigerian journalists enjoyed a more conducive atmosphere to practise unhindered, and in accordance with the ethics of the profession,” he advised.
