Presidency bars PUNCH, others from covering Buhari’s Benue visit



The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari disregarded freedom of the press in Benue on Monday as correspondents of The PUNCH, ThisDay , Vanguard , Tribune , New Telegraph , The Nation and others were barred from covering the President ’s visit .



About 30 correspondents from various media organisations are in the state, but only seven handpicked media organisations were allowed to cover the President ’s visit .



Our correspondent, who had gone to the Benue State Government House in the early hours of the day, was told that his organisation was not among those allowed to cover the visit .



Checks revealed that there was a directive from the Presidency to restrict the number of media organisations to cover the visit to seven.



The media allowed to cover the visit are The News Agency of Nigeria , Daily Sun , Voice of Nigeria , Daily Trust, Leadership, The Guardian and Daily Independent .
No reason was given for the decision.



Our correspondent noted that security operatives from Abuja took over the activities at the state’s seat of government .



Apart from journalists , invited stakeholders were turned back at the third gate of the Government House where security , mainly operatives of the Department of State Services , checked the names of guests against a list they clutched jealously.



Some protesting youths, who had stormed the venue to register their grievances over incessant killings in the state, were sent away by security men , while their placards were seized .



One of the protesters , Jonah Kwaor , who described the operatives as overzealous , said , “ We wanted the President to know the magnitude of the senseless killings in our communities , but security men , including the police, drove us away and seized some of our placards.”



Members of the Peace Corps , who attempted to enter the Government House to appeal to the President to rescind his decision and sign the Peace Corps bill , were prevented from entering.



It was gathered that the itinerary of the President was adjusted as his visit to the state Chairman of the state traditional council , Tor Tiv , Prof . James Ayatse , was cancelled.



Also the President ’s scheduled visit to the Internally Displaced People ’s camp at Gbamjiba , in the Guma Local Government Area was reportedly put off .
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http://punchng.com/presidency-bars-punch-others-from-covering-buharis-benue-visit/

Presidiot and Chief dullardinhoO in action


Daura calling.
FTC

Barring journalist from presidential event is a strategy of a bygone era.

What a joke of a president..



What a joke of a nation..

It is worthy of mention here that the freedom of information bill which lingered over a decade was finally signed into law during Goodluck Jonathan's regime.This helped to empower the press, strengthen our democracy and ofcourse boosted the investors confidence in our economy.













Just wanna make common sense

BMC crew and online defenders will avoid this thread like a plague..

Buhari keeps falling the hands of his defenders on daily basis!!

How do they defend this now..

Well I guess he's an ADULT and he's free to do whatever he deem fit..Lauretta Onochie

The nation was also banned? It seems like baba Yusuf doesn't trust Baba folashade anymore

They could not bring in or rent crowd.. to show off.

OpanachiOzohve:
They could not bring in or rent crowd.. to show off.

No more rentable zombies and babarians in Benue

They don't want 'hate speech', they want 'praise speech'.

So freedom has become a thing of cost? I see no reason why the presidency should not allow the omitted media to cover his visit.

"There must be something in the water...."

This abooki presidiot na werey sha!

Truth is what they are trying to suppress. Praise singers were allowed.

Buhari cannot stand constructive criticism. He would rather have sycophants around him.

He did the same immediately after he was declared winner, when he banned AIT from his camp. It took outrage and accusations of that action being a taste of intolerance to the media as things to come before he quickly beat a retreat. But then, a leopard cannot change its spots.

Too bad!

all for show

Can you imagine?

Is this not military rule?








I curse the day Buhari was born! He should be an Animal in his former life.


Always using tyranny in his sense of reasoning and action.

This isn't democracy!



Death is better than that Evil man Governing Nigeria

just great....

Maka Why?

Multiple vacancies in a logistic firm in Lagos.
Here: http://www.hrtechnique.com/2018/03/castleberg-nigeria-multiple-vacancies.html

Interesting.

Lipscomb:
Are you always so stupid or is today a special occasion?

you are the dimwit here...

Okay nah

but why? they used media to win election, now they are turning there back to that same media because they don't want there secret out.

We are getting there!!!
When many cried that someone was a dictator, some 'wise' people put it off that he is now a democrat.
We are watching, Daura would most likely feel d impact of our patience!

Na wa o! Ban everybody if u like... Wedding MC

Why

Naija ... Which way?

Good