A government elected by the electorates to lead them should be accountable and human friendly for the benefit of the masses.
Government can not be everywhere or know all the corners of the state it governs which is why reaching out to the masses through means like media chat and internet is very important.
I remember during the former governor of Anambra state Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige tenure as the governor he have a media chat programme aired by the state television station Anambra Broadcasting Station (ABS) every first Saturday of the month, where he interact with the public on numerous issues bothering the state.
I always look forward to it because I love watching the governor address many issues raised by people who calls and the appreciation of the previous callers on how he solved the problem in their locality.
Since he was sacked by the supreme court, the media chat died a natural death in the state. No means of reaching the governor except if by grace a prominent politician decides to inform the authority about his people’s plight.
We need a return of the media chat where the public can be able to interact with the governor either in expression of the delight or displeasure of his performance and also to draw government attention to the areas that need government intervention. The public can also be able to report any contractor who abandon or is doing unsatisfactory work to the governor for appropriate action to be taken.
Internet is another means especially in this computer age where people can communicate with the government through government owned website and email address.
The advantages are numerous
1: The governor will know the performance rating through the satisfaction report by the people
2: People will be able to lay their complaints to the governor for appropriate actions to be taken.
3: Fraudulent activities going on in some ministries can be leaked to the governor anonymously through the internet.
4: The governor through this means will update the people about his policy concerning the state.
5: It brings the government closer to the people.

The insensitivity of many governors in Nigeria and the corruption going on in many states is enough reason for the return of the media chat.
Many state governors quote false figures spent on ghost projects and white elephant projects which the people can not verify hereby giving them the opportunity to loot the state treasury dry.
With the freedom of information bill passed by Goodluck Jonathan administration the people must demand to know the day to day activities of the government, questions must be asked and the government will be forced to provide them.
With this, corruption at the state level will reduce drastically.
The media chat of Buhari provided many insights about his government policies lined up, he addressed many issues like the Subsidy, Biafra, Corruption fight, Proposed Budget and many more. It gives hope to the people who believe in his administration then I see no reason why the state governors will not adopt the idea if they want to convince us they have the interest of the masses at heart.
If we can force our state governors to adopt the media chat idea it will go a long way in reducing corruption and increase accountability.
Your criticism is allowed so is your corrections and opinions.

Written by Uche Osefoh

http://ucheosefoh..com.ng/2016/01/the-need-for-media-chat-with-governors.html

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