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Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the Asaba 2018, Chief Solomon Ogba has explained why members of the media in Delta State were not carried along in the media planning of the African athletic championship.
He told Banneronlinenews.com in an interview that members of the local press in the state need not worry, but should see themselves as part of those that should show hospitality to the visitors.
He said members of the local media work for the bosses in Lagos, and the bosses in Lagos are in the state, pointing out that the local media men should not be angry that their bosses who came from Lagos are being cared and catered for.
Reminded that it is not all media houses present at the Asaba 2018 that is based in Lagos, as many are based in various locations in the state and so could not have bosses in Lagos, Chief Ogba said: “If they are angry, maybe because they think that they are giving some people some treatment, which they are not getting. And the people being referred to are the bosses from Lagos.
On the point that it is not all media houses that are based in Lagos, he said: “For me, everybody should be taken care of. What we did is to provide accommodation for those of them who are not staying. Those are the 40 people we gave accommodation. If you are staying here, you should be able to take care of yourself and support your own.
Asked what message he has for the media practitioners in the state, Ogba said: “ It is our thing. We should be the one hosting people. They should be the ones providing for people. They should be the ones making sure that others are not angry. Let them join hands with all of us to welcome our visitors.”
Many of the journalists expressed disappointment at not being carried along; pointing out that it is erroneous to assume that all the media houses in Nigeria are based in Lagos. Some contend that many media establishments are based in various locations in the state.
Said a journalist: “Members of the Delta State Chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), even members of the Sports Writers Association (SWAN) in Delta State ought to have been incorporated in the LOC of the Asaba 2018.