By Pwavidon Neckson, a Concerned Citizen in Numan LGA
The attention of the Honourable Member Representing Numan Constituency and Deputy Speaker of the Adamawa state House of Assembly, Hon. Pwamwakeno Mackondo, has been drawn to a spurious news report published by The Finder, an Online News Blogg with the sole aim to malign, discredit and embarass the Lawmaker as well incite the Numan Constituents and the entire House of Assembly against the person of the Deputy Speaker.
While it is not in the culture of the Deputy Speaker to join issues with anybody, particularly on matters that affect the wellbeing of the good people of his constituency on whose mandate he is in the house, it has become expedient to respond to some of the issues raised just for the records and not for any political gain.
Ordinarily, the Deputy Speaker would have dismissed the publication with a wave of hand, as one of those survivalist strategies looking for recognition by all means and to avoid giving unmerited credence to liars, bootlickers and scavengers in Journalism garment.
It should be noted that what the online publisher wrote, was not only false, baseless, unfounded but a product of a desperate fifth columnist who thrives in publishing falsehood on personalities as a source of survival.
It is worthy of note that as a Lawmaker, the Deputy Speaker has an obligation to speak for and on behalf of his people and the good citizens of Adamawa State on any matter affecting their well being in the interest of peace, unity and development of Adamawa State.
Therefore when he sponsored the motion following complaints on some issues affecting the Numan Campus of SPY, and how the institution is being shortchanged when allocated the Tertiary Education Trust Fund(TETfund) projects, he did that in good fate to correct the wrongs and not targeted at any body.
This is because there were public out cry/complaints from his constituency which were subsequently investigated and found to be so more especially the allegations of delisting of some courses.
Therefore, whether we like it or not, SPY being a public institution that is funded by tax payers money, must be allowed to grow and be accessible to qualified prospective students in and around Adamawa State.
Even in developed world, constructive views are the antidotes which drive development, but for anybody to cash on the views of the Deputy Speaker which he expressed on the floor of the house, just to earn a living in the name of Journalism, amount to act of irresponsibility, callousness and brazen abuse of responsible and objective journalism and code of ethics of media practice in Nigeria.
It sounds funny and absurd for a Journalist or Publisher, to speculate and fly kites on matter of physical developments that are verifiable anytime any day.
The Finder claimed in its report, that the Deputy Speaker lied, and that he has documents to prove that no single course was delisted from Numan Campus, that at no time was SPY Numan shortchanged in the allocation of TET Fund projects.
We challenge The Finder to show the world the documents and imperical prove that the Numan Campus of SPY has not been shortchanged in the allocation of TETfund projects in the State.
By our records and which are verifiable, before the advent of the present leadership of the Adamawa State Polytechnic (SPY), courses that were offered in the School of Administrative Studies, Numan Campus, were reintroduced in the Yola Main Campus of the Polytechnic even without amending the law establishing the institution.
These courses are; Diploma in Public Administration, Diploma in Management Studies, Diploma in Public Accounts and Audit, Diploma in Peace and Conflict Resolution as well as Diploma in Crime Management etc.
Even as it stands today, the Management of the Polytechnic has delisted Diploma in Crime Management as well as Diploma in International Relations from the Numan Campus and reintroduced them in the Main Campus in Yola.
This is a clear case of strangulation of the Numan Campus to deny the college from growing and prospective students access to the institution.
About the TETfund projects, even passers bye will attest to the fact that Numan Campus is being surchanged in the allocation of projects. Despite the strategic location of the campus and the increasing students population, the only TETfund project that can be seen is the impossing office block located directly by the gate facing the Unity Bank in Numan.
The campus has a surging population of students annually, but lacked enough facilities such as lecture thearter and hostel to accomondate them even when such facilities are visibly littered all around the Main Campus in Yola. This is unfair and justifiable.
The Finder may act as a glorified mouth piece of the Polytechnic, but it will be foolhardy for a paid agent to say that 'the Legislator lied and misled his electorate', we cannot blame the publisher because he is not a Journalist and does not have journalism background whatsoever to know the importance of telling his target audience the truth and nothing but the truth.
Being a none indigene, he knows he has no stake in the Adamawa project which is anchored on fairness, equity and justice. His concerned is not about the welfare of the people but what he can amass from his paid masters and that is why he can afford to throw decorum and truth to the dogs.
With all sense of honesty, one does not need a soothsayer to tell The Finder Publisher about the multi billion TETfund projects in Yola and Jambutu campuses of the institution in question and wonder if Numan campus is not part of the Polytechnic. A visit to the three campuses will expose the reality on ground.
Therefore, the news reports by The Finder Online would have been factual and credible if the publishers was painstaking in his findings by visiting the three Campuses and juxtaposed his findings with the motion sponsored by the Deputy Speaker so that he can earn the money and acolades he deserved.
In one of the reports, the Finder shamelessly claimed that "Numan Youth Stakeholders Forum ( NYSF), have threatened to recall Hon. Mackondo.
He should understand that Our people are not docile, they are civilized, wise and educated enough to know whether there is such a forum exist in Numan or not. Because of his ignorance and lack of sound knowledge, the publisher failed to understand that a forum can either be" Numan Youth Forum" or "Numan Stakeholders Forum" and not "Numan Youth Stakeholders Forum" such name and forum does not even exist, and it is a clear prove that the totality of what The Finder publishes are blatant lies, trash/rubbish and should be disregarded.
The Finder Publisher, should learn more about responsible Journalism, he should fact-check his reports before going to the press and be professional rather than disseminating disjointed news reports that are lacking in context, syntax, diction and merit for public consumption.
Otherwise the huge errors, faulty construction of sentences and disjointed news judgement and flow which characterised the entire publication can not be said to have emanated from a Journalist and that is why we want to call the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at all levels to call likes of The Finder Online Publisher to order to avoid dragging the reputation of Journalism and Journalists in to the mud.
