The Federal Capital Territory Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, on Thursday urged operators of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Community Radio to imbibe the ethical standards of the journalism profession.
Aliyu made the call at the inauguration of AMAC Community Radio and Karshi Community Plaza both in Karshi, Abuja.
She also called on the operators to ensure that the station served as a platform that would facilitate an interface between duty bearers and rights holders.
Aliyu described community radio as a medium of expressing and sharing views, thoughts, ideas, problems and prospects of rural, disadvantaged, vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations.
She, however, warned operators to be weary of individuals and groups with interests and dispositions to cause public disquiet and disrupt the peace of the society.
“We are therefore confident that this Community Radio can help us in addressing social, economic, cultural, educational, health, water and sanitation and disaster-related issues more effectively and strategically.
“The station should also promote small and medium enterprises development by creating market opportunities for the operators and consequently improve their sales and incomes, and contribute to the socio-economic development of the people.
“It is important that we must avoid misadventures into politics and religion and any sensitive issues that have the potential to divide rather than unite our people.
“These and many more are daunting tasks before you and you must do everything to avoid such landmines,” the minister cautioned.
Aliyu commended the Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council for the diligence exhibited in the service of the people; stressing that the Community Radio would further enhance revenue generation of the council.
Earlier, the Chairman of AMAC, Abdullali Candido, said that the aspiration of his government since 2016 was to change the narrative and establish the concept of self-sustaining council with economic strength.
Candido said that the vision was developed to a conceptual framework which transformed to the establishment of some institutions such as AMAC Investment and Property Development Company, AMAC Micro Finance Bank, AMAC Marshals and the AMAC Community Radio.
The council boss stressed that their operations were being monitored to ensure their sustainability.
Candido, who explained that the AMAC Community Radio was established to bridge the information gap and further bring governance closer to the people, urged residents of Karshi community to safeguard the project.
He called on development partners whose goals and programmes spanned across community mobilisation and socialisation toward stimulating and sustaining the process of growth and development of rural communities, to see AMAC Community Radio as a veritable tool to propagate their goals.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highpoint of the event was the unveiling of the AMAC Community Radio and Karshi Community Plaza, which was named after the FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu. (NAN)
