Kunle ADELABU & Mariam AKINLOYE
-Honour MegaXpression’s publisher on his appointment
Practitioners of community media in Ikorodu division has once again regrouped to ensure professionalism and contribute to the development of the division.
This was the resolutions of Publishers and Chief Executive Officers of community news medium during their meeting at Falcon (Café) Bar and Suites, Ipakoko, Ikorodu, on Saturday, July 27,2019.
The gathering was called to honour one of their own, Mr Shakiru Seidu, the Publisher of the MegaXpression, who was recently appointed as the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to the Chairman of Igbogbo/Bayeku Local Council Development Area.
After much deliberation, the gathering resolved to come together once again and chat a common cause for publishers, editors and reporters of community media in the division.
According to the communiqué released at the end of the meeting, it was also resolved that the Prince Adedamola Aderibigbe, Publisher of the Starlight Magazine, Omoba Peju Akinyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Oga Radio and Publisher, Ikorodu Trade & Contacts, Kunle Adelabu, Publisher of THE IMPACT Newspaper and Mr Seidu Shakiru, Publisher of MegaXpression Newsmagazine, should act as Coordinator, Co- coordinator, Coordinating Secretary and Media/Finance Coordinator respectively.
The group also agreed to, henceforth, react to issue related to the division and play its role effectively in the area of setting agenda for discourses and developments.
It was also stated that membership of the forum shall strictly be for publishers, editors and reporters that engage in community journalism in Ikorodu division.
“Membership of this new group shall consist of publishers, editors and reporters that engage in community journalism in Ikorodu division. The reporters could also be from the national or state news medium but must be on the community desk and reside and has his or her beat in Ikorodu”, the communiqué clarified.
Speaking earlier, the convener of the meeting, Kunle Adelabu, congratulated Mr Seidu for his appointment as media aide to the Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA Chairman and enjoined him to use his new position to further the cause of community journalism.
“On behalf of my organization and entire practitioners of community journalism in Ikorodu, I congratulate you on your new appointment which is historic.
“This is the first time that we shall be having a practitioner being appointed into such professional position in the annals of Ikorodu local government administration.
“We commend you to have positioned yourself for the opportunity and I hope that it would serve as wake-up call to other members and also further encourage other chairmen and political office holders to look towards the direction of appointing professionals to effectively and adequately propagate their programmes and projects”, he stated.
“On behalf of this group, I also thank Comrade Sesan Daini for deeming it fit to have appointed one of us as his media aide. He can always count on our supports but he still has to do more in service delivery in his council and make himself more feasible and friendly to the media”.
Speaking on the need to have a formidable platform for media practitioners in Ikorodu division, especially those engaging in community journalism, Adelabu stated that:
“It’s only through group like this that we can make ourselves more formidable and register our presence effectively in the hearts of the populace.
“We can’t do things separately and expect people to take us serious. This is without prejudice to individual media houses internal rules and modus operandi”, he added.
Starlight publisher, Prince Adedamola Aderibigbe, in his own remarks , eulogized Mr Seidu on his new appointment.
He charged him to serve as a bridge between Igbogbo /Bayeku LCDA and the community while also enjoining him to use his new office to make the council chairman more responsive to the media in the division.
On the regrouping of community journalists in Ikorodu division, Aderibigbe stated that the idea is long overdue and asked members to be ready to deal with challenges ahead.
“This is an idea that is long overdue because we need to come back together again to chart common front.
“But we must be ready to face the challenges ahead. We must get it right this time around”, he challenged members.
The honouree, Mr Seidu, responding, thanked his colleagues for the honour bestowed on him with the gathering to celebrate his new appointment.
He assured members that his new office would be used to champion the cause of the group and individual members.
Seidu also assured that he would use his new office to propagate Igbogbo /Bayeku LCDA and facilitate effective communication between the community and the council.
He also supported the regrouping of the community media practitioners, stating that “we cannot avoid not to come together in unity and for common purpose in advancing media agenda in the community and contributing to the development of Ikorodu division”.
He added that : “I assure members that our council would change its media relations positively. We are going to work with you in propagating the positive development in Igbogbo/Bayeku LCDA”.
Other members at the meeting also spoke in same manners.
Ikorodu division is home to the largest number of community news medium in the state and arguably Nigeria.
Other media houses in the division include Oriwu Sun, The Factor, Ikorodu News, Waves magazine, LASPO World, D’Voca, LASPOTECH FM, Town Watch among many others.
