The Bayelsa State Government has urged the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) to improve its programming and reportage of events in line with global best practices.
The Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the advice when the new General Manager of NTA Yenagoa, Mrs. Daoju Whyte, led a delegation of top management staff of the television station on a courtesy visit to Ewhrudjakpo in Government House, Yenagoa.
In a statement on Wednesday, February 22, by his media aide, Doubara Atasi, the deputy governor said many Nigerians seemed not to have confidence in the NTA anymore as a reliable news organisation, especially when it concerned controversial issues involving the Federal Government.
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Ewhrudjakpo, therefore, urged the Daoju Whyte-led NTA Yenagoa management to think outside the box with a view to making the desired change and impact to move the station forward.
He assured them that he would relate their requests for a 150KVA generator and renovation of the building to Governor Douye Diri, while his office would take steps to provide potable water and refurbish the decrepit operational vehicle for the station.
Also speaking, the General Manager, NTA Yenagoa, Mrs Daoju Whyte, commended the Bayelsa State Government over the recently inaugurated Ernest Ikoli Media Complex at Ekeki in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Whyte described the media complex named after one of Nigeria’s foremost journalists and nationalists, Ernest Ikoli, as the first of its kind in the country.
The General Manager, who used the opportunity to congratulate Governor Diri and his deputy on their second anniversary in office, noted that the successful inauguration of the project was a true testament to the present administration’s appreciation of the significant role media plays in governance.
She said NTA Yenagoa had drawn up a number of programmes to market the democratic dividends being provided by the state government, including its women empowerment programmes and highlight the administration’s economic growth plans for the state.
Whyte, who also highlighted some of the operational challenges facing the television station, appealed to the state government to assist them with a 150KVA generator, vehicles, renovation of the station’s building, and provision of potable water on the premises.
