The Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, has appealed to Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri of Adamawa State to sign the media enhancement bill into law.
DAILY POST gathered that the Adamawa State House of Assembly had earlier passed the bill into law in 2022.
Adamawa Assembly passes bill to increase retirement age, allowances for journalists
NUJ has, however, enjoined the governor to sign the bill into law without further delay.
The union made the request, in a communique issued at the end of the quarterly National Executive Committee meeting of the union held in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
Our correspondent reports that the NEC meeting was attended by national executive members of the union.
The meeting which was hosted by the Oyo State Council of the NUJ and held between Thursday and Saturday was also attended by NUJ Chairmen and Secretaries across the country.
The communique issued at the end of the meeting was read to journalists by the NUJ President, Chris Izugozo on Saturday at the NUJ Oyo State Council Secretariat in Ibadan.
Izugozo, in the communique, said the bill, when signed into law, would help to improve the standard of living for journalists in the state.
Izugozo noted that NEC deliberated on various issues such as insecurity, the media enhancement bill passed by the Adamawa State House of Assembly, minimum wage and other issues.
He maintained that the NEC also frowned at the incessant arrest and detention of journalists by security operatives.
“NEC deliberated on various issues and resolved as follows:
“The Adamawa State House of Assembly has passed a media enhancement bill. The media enhancement bill will protect the interest of journalists in the state. It looks at the retirement age for journalists and allowances in the state. We are appealing to the Adamawa state governor, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to sign the bill.
“We urge other states to follow suit. We are desirous to ensure that this bill is signed into law. It will help to ensure that journalists are protected.
“We are going to meet with the governor of the state to ensure that the bill is passed into law.
“NEC frowns at the incessant arrest and detention of journalists by security agencies. Arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists will not help our democracy to grow”.