The Executive Secretary, Benue State Emergency Management Agency, Sir James Iorpuu has sued for unity of purpose among media practitioners in the state. He charged them to work as a team in order to serve people of the state better.
Sir Iorpuu made the call recently in his office in Makurdi, the state capital during a courtesy call on him by members of Credible Correspondents of Nigeria Union of Journalists.
The BSEMA boss said it was incumbent on media practitioners to resolve their differences as members of one family and work as a team.
He said it was better to work as a united house and promised that as a friend of the media in the state, he will liaise with leadership of the media in the state with a view to ensuring that all gray areas are addressed to ensure that media practitioners in the state work as a team.
The BSEMA executive secretary who described journalists as major development agents in nation building the world over, lamented that there will be no meaningful development if there were cracks within the media practitioners. He said this was so because there will be no information sharing among them for adequate reportage.
The executive secretary who gave insight on the humanitarian situation in the state, explained that he discovered on assumption of office that the state does not have verifiable data on the Internally Displaced Persons since the information he was presented with was a stagnated figure.
He told the group that he has met with some development partners including the United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR), Community Links and the International Organisation for Migrants (IOM) whose team is in the state to capture the bio metrics of the IDPs.
He said the team was expected to spend two weeks in Agatu Local Government Area of the state to ensure that each and every IPD was captured. According to him, about seventy percent of IDPs from Agatu Local Government Area are taking refuge in Wadata area of Makurdi Local Government Area.
While disclosing that the international community was aware of the humanitarian situation in the state with the biometric data capturing, Sir Iorpuu announced that the United States of America was also interested in the humanitarian situation in the state and has agreed to visit the state in January, 2024.
According to the BSEMA executive secretary, the state through the biometric exercise has been launched by the global community while the federal government has also shown willingness to assist in managing the humanitarian situation in the state.
He announced that the state was in receipt of allocation of six trucks of food and non food items from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Earlier, leader of the group and state correspondent of Vanguard newspaper, Sir George Okoh told the BSEMA executive secretary that the group was in his office as part of its efforts to create synergy between it and his agency for a better working relationship.
Sir Okoh said the group was a combination of reporters from credible media organisations and pledged accurate, comprehensive and adequate reportage of the agency’s activities.
In a remark, the Benue State correspondent of Aljazeerah newspapers, Elder Henry Ibya said the media community was aware of the humanitarian crisis confronting the state and promised that journalists will ensure accurate and sustained reportage of the agency’s activities.
