Following a report that a Catholic priest was beaten up by the Edo state government aides, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of the state on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 withdrew with immediate effect the accreditation of the correspondent and cameraman of the Independent Television (ITV) attached to the Government House.
This was contained in a letter addressed to the General Manager, Independent Television (ITV), Benin City, owned by Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, TheTrent reports.
The letter signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor, Mr. Kassim Afegbua, said, “You will recall our earlier discussion with you on the series of fabricated and adversarial reportage of issues in the state which has continued to misinform, misrepresent and confuse the people of the state.
“As you know, these deliberate false reports which have become your editorial policy offend the ethics of broadcast journalism and the code of conduct spelt out by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).
“In view of the above, we are withdrawing the accreditation of your correspondent earlier attached to Government House with immediate effect.”
In a related development, the state government had also terminated its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Igbinedion University, Okada.Sources revealed that the termination of the MoU was as result of the refusal of the institution to meet the terms of the agreement of the sum of N350 million.
The state Commissioner for Information and Orientation Mr. Louis Odion in a statement disclosed that part of the terms of the MoU in question was that the school would pay an annual concessionary levy to the Edo state government which would be used in the state owned Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital.
He said, “Whereas the MoU in question enabled the Igbinedion University exclusive use of the facilities at the state-owned Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital with our highly skilled personnel paid by Edo tax payers, the state-owned Ambrose Alli University was denied accreditation for medical course by the NUC and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for lack of a teaching hospital”.
“It was part of the condition precedent demanded by National Universities Commission and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to grant the Igbinedion University accreditation to train medical students in clinical specialities,” Odion noted.“In that circumstance, the governor is left with no other option that to terminate the MoU in the public interest.”
” The Ministry of Health has equally been directed to inform the NUC and MDCN that the Central Hospital and Stella Obasanjo Hospital will no longer be made available for the use of the medical students of Igbinedion University.”
When contacted, the Vice Chancellor, Igbinedion University, Okada, Prof. Ehosa Osaghae,claimed that the school had met their terms of the MoU.
Although he also claimed that the government was yet to inform them fully on the development.
