Nigeria
and the Doha-based international broadcaster Al Jazeera are to
collaborate in the area of capacity building for journalists in the
government-owned media organizations, especially the Nigerian Television
Authority (NTA).
This
followed a request made by the Minister of Information and Culture,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to Al Jazeera to collaborate with the Ministry of
Information and Culture in its efforts to restructure the NTA and other
publicly-funded media establishments to enhance their performance.
He said the collaboration could be in the areas of capacity building as well as exchange of programmes and personnel.
''Our
plan is to reposition the public media organizations to make them
effective and competitive, irrespective of which government is in
power,'' Alhaji Mohammed said during a meeting with the Acting Director
General of Al Jazeera, Dr. Mostafa Souag, in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday.
''For
a long time, government media organizations have lost their
independence and credibility. I want to restore the glory and
credibility of the publicly-owned media organizations,'' he said.
The
Minister also called for a 'special relationship' between Al Jazeera
and the Nigerian Government in the coverage of the key policy areas of
this Administration - the fight against corruption and terrorism as well
as the efforts to revamp the economy.
He
assured Al Jazeera that the present Administration in Nigeria ''is an
extremely open government'' and that the organization would not have any
problem doing its work in the country.
Responding,
the Acting Director General of Al Jazeera hailed Nigeria for providing a
conducive environment for the media to carry out its duties.
''Despite
a lot of conflict and tension, you have managed to create a conducive
environment for the media. This is very important for us in the media
and we hope to see more freedom and more protection for the media,'' he
said.
Dr.
Souag said Al Jazeera is willing to cooperate with the ministry in the
area of training, adding: ''Our training centre is one of the most
professional in every aspect of the media, We are more than happy to
work with you.''
The
Minister is in Qatar to attend the 2016 Annual Congress of the
International Press institute (IPI), which is due to open later on
Saturday.
Segun Adeyemi
SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Doha, Qatar.
March 19th 2016
SA to Hon Minister of Information and Culture
Doha, Qatar.
March 19th 2016
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