The National Council of Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs Council) have called for press freedom urging for responsible and factual reporting.
The council joined the media fraternity and other key stakeholders in the country and the world to celebrate World press freedom day.
World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom.
It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.
This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme “Information as a Public Good” serves as a call to affirm the importance of cherishing information as a public good, and exploring what can be done in the production, distribution and reception of content to strengthen journalism, and to advance transparency and empowerment while leaving no one behind.
According to the council, the media play an important role in the society in Education and informing the public, information, and knowledge in this age and era are powerful tools.
“…and a free and independent press is the core in connecting the public to the information that is much needed to advocate for issues that affect them, make necessary informed decisions, and holding public officials and institutions accountable in their actions,” they stated.
They lauded the media for the great work they are doing despite the many challenges they face among them the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
They stated that freedom of expression and access to factual and accurate information provided by media is foundational to prosperous and secure democratic societies.
“As the world mark this important day we join all media stakeholders in solidarity as we appreciate the great work the media is doing in our society. In our increasingly digital world, press freedom and the free flow of information required are key,” they said.
Additionally, they said that the public has faith in media and thus it is very necessary that any information going to the public is factual and indeed for societal benefit.
Further, the council said that they are committed to work in partnership with members of the media, the private sector, the non-governmental organizations, and other concerned governments to support access to information and defend freedom of expression.
They urged responsible journalists and call for total support.
“The NGOs Council highly appreciates the great work done by the media in informing and educating the public, Many thanks for your continued support to us as an NGO Council and our Member NGOs working on various thematic areas across the country,” they concluded.