FG Says Trust Is Key To Good Governance
Princess-Ekwi Ajide Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria says a robust media approach is needed to foster sustainable peace and development across the globe.
President Muhammadu Buhari made the assertion at the opening ceremony of the 11th edition of the United Nations Educational and Scientific Cultural Organization, UNESCO, Global Media and Information Literacy Week with the theme “Nurturing Trust, a Media, and Information Literacy Imperative” in Abuja.
The President who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, said the aim of the conference, Promoting Development Intervention, will require Mediaand information literacy to boost trust, and solidarity for global commitment.
He enjoined the citizenry to support the federal government’s move to counter misinformation and disinformation for social and economic growth as according to him, the essence is to address the fundamental element of human and national development, which he believes the conference will help to meet the yearnings of the people to boost the democratic values of all nations.
President Buhari noted that trust is a key ingredient of democracy and good governance and that developing partnerships and media funding will further strengthen trust and solidarity while enhancing information literacy development across all societies for national cohesion.
In his remarks, the Assistant Director-General, Communication, and Information, UNESCO,Dr. Tawfik Jelassi noted that there is a need to work on information consumers by making them knowledgeable about ICT so as to reduce misinformation and disinformation across the globe.
Earlier, the Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed had said the conference is aimed at equipping citizens with evaluating tools to enable them identify fake news and misinformation.
He urged Nigerians to take advantage of the necessary guidelines to shun disinformation, and hate speech in order to build an informed and educated society that will promote values of the new technology.
