General Manager of Kwara State Printing and Publishing Corporation, publishers of The Herald titles, Alhaji Abdulrazaq Adebayo and his Radio Kwara counterpart, Alhaji Abdullateef Adebowale Adedeji, yesterday challenged media practitioners in the state to tread the path of professionalism in their undertakings. They warned that the current trend in the media where some bad eggs were smearing the image of the profession with their unethical conduct would not augur well for the growth of the industry.

The duo spoke separately when they played host to the 2016 Press Week Committee of the Kwara State council of Nigeria Union of Journalists. The Herald GM stated that there was need the need to improve on the activities of the council despite the feat recorded by Abiodun Abdulkareem led administration. He noted that the achievements of the incumbent executive committee of the union could not equaled in the annals of the profession in the state.

Adebayo, who congratulated the council for its catalogue of successes, said the union was a body to be proud of in terms of achievements regardless of some challenges. In his remark, Radio Kwara GM said there was swift need for paradigm shift in the organisation of journalism profession in the state.

He also tasked the incoming generation in the industry to take up the responsibility of repositioning the media with a view to restoring sanity, which he pointed out, was fading away. Adedeji noted that capacity building was key and sacrosanct in the practice of media profession, just as he added that "we need to have innate ability to develop ourselves".

He also called journalists in the state to stand on the path of truth and refused to be intimidated in the course of discharging social responsibility. The Radio Kwara General Manager assured the committee and the state council of NUJ of all the needed support to execute the lined up programmes.

Speaking earlier, the chairman, 2016 Press Week Committee of Kwara NUJ, Mr Isiak Babatunde, said his team was saddled with the task of organising a befitting week for members. He stated that this year’s week had been embedded with lots of new programmes in the bid to consolidate on the achievements of the past events.