UNIPORT campus journalists elect executives, others

By Helen Okechukwu

The Union of Campus Journalists, (UCJ-UNIPORT) of the University of Port Harcourt, has inaugurated its newly elected executive and standing committee members.

The event, hosted virtually via Google Meet had in attendance, the executives alongside thirty other attendees.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Confidence B. Kponi, the re-elected President of the Union urged the newly elected executives to work hard to justify the trust reposed in them by the students’ polity.

He also called for strong cooperation to enable them to achieve all they set out to do.

Speaking on “Why Campus Journalism: CJs’ Role in the Advancement of Media Literacy.”, Ms. Joke Kujenya, a senior journalist and Mentor, who is the Executive-In-Charge, of Media Mentors Leadership Academy (MMLA), a mentoring outfit, corroborated the call on the newly elected officers to do their best and work as a team.

On the main theme, Kujenya advised the student journalists to be “critical thinkers in reporting issues such as student safety, wellness, academic standards, and campus policies.

She said that campus journalists should be able to promote transparency, unity, and fairness between students and the university management if they get a good grasp of the profession.

“Campus journalism serves as a stepping stone to career life in the mainstream media; thus, each student must develop the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media content in a variety of forms.

“For several reasons, campus journalism is imperative, primarily, it provides a platform for students to express their perspective on various issues that helps to enhance their critical thinking and communication skills, which are essential for success in their potential career,” she said.

She further charged the UNIPORT campus journalists on the need for media literacy by “deploying the importance of fact-checking, through evaluating sources aimed at defacing the image of the institution from misinformation, disinformation, and fake news.

She stressed: “Work with the university administrators and faculty to promote media literacy as an essential skill for students to develop, and also advocate for its inclusion in the curriculum.

“Directly teach media literacy skills on how to identify bias in news coverage and stress on fact-checking sources on the open campus community beyond the mass communications’ students,” she added.

Similarly, the pioneer president of the union, Wisdom Okezie,now a reporter for Alimosho-news, Lagos, said that the Union which was founded in March 2021, has gone far in just two years, despite “the askew financial support, especially from stakeholders whom we expected would have keyed into the vision.”

He outlined commendable prospects of the UCJ-UNIPORT as the first official media on campus to receive endorsement from the Students’ Union Government (SUG), and the Dean of Students Affairs Unit to transmit information from elections on the campus each year to the university community.

“Our objective coverage gave us wider acceptance, respect, and the much-desired publicity to blossom through those turbulent times.

“I was also excited when I read of members of our great union winning awards, being nominated, and participating in top-rated media-based discussions facilitated by the very best in both the broadcast, print, and new media, in Nigeria.

“I want to say with all seriousness and in all sincerity, that I am proud of your individual and collective achievements,” he added.

Wisdom further urged the university management and communications department to embrace the student journalism outfit and recognize it as an Industrial Training placement for students.

The newly sworn-in UCJ-UNIPORT executives include Mr. Confidence Kponi, who returned as the Union President, Ms. Helen Ogbowu Okechukwu, Vice President, Ms. Ezinne Okoroafor, Public Relations, Ms. Vivian Eberechukwu, General Secretary and Favour Onyige, Financial Secretary, respectively.

Others sworn in are members of the Publicity Committee, headed by: Ezinne Okoroafor, with Abraham Ike, Gift Ngadiba, and Esther Eton.

Also, the Editorial and Production committee will be led by; Edeki Ewomazino as editor-in-chief, Jason, Precious Umeh, Chidima Clement, and Precious Nkemjika.

Financial Committee members will be led by the VC, Ms. Helen Ogbowu Okechukwu, with Success Michael and Mercy Agha, as members.

Also in attendance for the 2nd UCJ-UNIPORT inauguration are other special guests including; Mr. Ayoola Adeleke, NUCJ South-South Zonal Secretary, erstwhile President of UCJ Ilorin, Adedimeji Quayyım Abdul-Hafeez among others.