.Hails inventors of radio
The Administrative Panel of Inquiry set up by Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, to unravel the circumstances surrounding the clash between youths and some Policemen at Upper Igun area in Benin City, has called on members of the public to come forward with information on the incident to facilitate the panel’s investigation.
Inaugurating the panel at the Government House, in Benin City, the governor urged the chairman, secretary and members to unravel the immediate and remote causes of the incident, during which one David Okoniba was allegedly killed.
At the inauguration, Obaseki said that the state government “cannot allow impunity in whatever guise to unfold in the state. The panel will get to the bottom of the matter.”
The governor gave the term of reference to include “determining the circumstances that led to the fatal clash between some mobile policemen and youths at Upper Igun area of Benin City; establish the number of persons, who died or sustained injury during the clash; the culpability of any person or group responsible for the incident; make appropriate recommendation to government to avert similar incident in the future.”
In a statement by its Secretary, S.I. Ibhadon, the panel invited members of the public to present either memoranda or oral testimonies to it at the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Government House, Benin city.
According to Ibhadon, “Every memorandum, which shall be in two copies, should be submitted to the Secretary of the Panel on or before Thursday February 15, at the Conference Room, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Government House, Benin City.
“Members of the public who wish to give oral testimonies are encouraged to appear before the panel on Monday, 18 February and Tuesday, 19 February, at the same venue from 11am to 4pm.”
Obaseki also inaugurated a four-man panel of inquiry to investigate incidents relating to the gas explosion at Ugbor area of Benin City.
He urged members of the panel to establish a mechanism to prevent gas explosions in the state.
According to the governor, “It is disheartening how people go about setting up stores indiscriminately in the state, where highly inflammable materials like gas are sold. This attitude exposes lives and properties to dangers. The outcome of this panel will be of immense value to the state to guide against future occurrence.”
The term of reference for the panel include; to examine the remote and immediate cause of the gas explosion at the gas facility in Ugbor which occurred on February 4, 2018, where three persons lost their lives; determine if the mandatory and statutory regulatory condition was followed when siting and operating the gas station at Ugbor and establish the true number of deaths recorded, and persons who sustained injuries, among others.
Meanwhile, Governor Obaseki, has extolled the inventors of radio, whose diligent scientific researches, he said, “resulted in the small audio box that has transformed the lives of billions of people across the world.”
Obaseki gave the commendation on Tuesday in commemoration of the United Nations World Radio Day, marked on February 13, each year.
“The transformational power of the radio is awesome. It has contributed significantly to governance across the world, mobilising people in the grassroots to embrace the policies and programmes of government while providing the platform for the listener to contribute to governance and social debates. Its ability to convey messages to millions of heterogeneous audience members far flung from one another makes the mass medium of communication unique,” he said.
The governor noted that in many instances, the radio was the first source of education for millions of people and has proven to be a reliable electronic companion that broadcasts entertainment materials and transmits cultures from one generation to the other.
He explained that with the advancement in information and communication technology sector, “there is need for stakeholders in the sector to expedite work on media convergence to enable media owners harness the associated benefits.
“In this regard, the Edo State Government is repositioning the state-owned broadcasting station, Edo Broadcasting Service and the Nigerian Observer, for efficient delivery of quality media contents.
“Our aspiration is to adopt best practice in the management of our media enterprises, cutting-edge technology and well trained and motivated workforce in the state’s broadcast and print media enterprises in line with the demands of the information age.”
On the theme of the 2018 World Radio Day, “Radio and Sports,” Obaseki said that the year promises a lot of magical moments with the forthcoming soccer mundial, the World Cup, which will offer loads of entertainment to soccer fans who will assemble around the radio, especially in rural and peri-urban areas to enjoy live broadcast of the Russia 2018 World Cup.”