Date: 2020-02-20

National president of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ ), Chief Chris Isiguzo has come hard on purveyors of fake news, saying that his administration will not hesitate to hand over to security agencies any member of the union found indulging in such unethical act.

The NUJ president, also at a special congress of the union held at NUJ Press Centre, directed the Kwara State Council to immediately constitute "Anti-Quackery Committee to flush out quacks from the profession".

He said the composition of the committee should consist of operatives of the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Nigeria Police Force and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

Speaking during a courtesy call on the deputy governor of the state, Mr Kayode Alabi during his two days working visit to Kwara State, Isiguzo decried the growing menace of fake news trending in the social media.

The NUJ president was reacting to a publication in an online news medium; Royalnews which reported that he accused the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of spending so much money on personal needs instead of implementing the N30,000 minimum wage for workers.

"Your excellency, I want you please, to take this message to His Excellency, the governor, that we never made such allegation and we have already called the purveyor of the satanic message to go and withdraw same immediately or we will not hesitate to hand him over to the law enforcement agencies. That, we will do to use him as an example so that other people who are always engaging in such dastardly acts will equally desist from such acts", he said.

He commended the governor for his efforts at improving the state's infrastructure.

Isiguzo said he was particularly impressed by the ongoing rehabilitation of some 31 public schools in the state.

Responding, the deputy governor, Kayode Alabi, thanked Isiguzo for his maturity, assuring him that his message would be conveyed to Governor AbdulRazaq.

Kayode narrated his personal ordeals in the hands of purveyors of fake news and urged the nation’s number one journalist to do something urgent to stop the unacceptable dissemination of fake news in the country.