The Imo State Government has described as false, the recent report released by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development, CJID, which portrayed the State as one posing great danger to journalists across the federation.

Dismissing the report, the Commissioner for Information, Public Orientation and Strategy, Declan Emelumba, in a press statement also faulted claims made by the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, supporting the CJID report.

The PDP had in a statement, lampooned Governor UZODINMA administration for a CJID research that found Imo the most dangerous and hostile environment for journalism practice in Nigeria.

The Commissioner, accused the PDP of exhibiting what he described as crass ignorance by hurriedly celebrating the CJID report, a group he maintained lacks credibility to undertake an empirical assessment of press freedom in Nigeria.

He declared that the so called CJID, headed by a publisher of an online news medium, demonstrated what he termed lack of pedigree and essential logistics to conduct a credible assessment of journalism practice in the country.

Emelumba remarked that the media group is known for undue sensationalism, dwelling so much on reports fraught with fallacies and sensational reportage.

He asserted that the PDP is always in search of any opportunity to attack the state government, hurriedly cashed on
the report without any cross-checking of the CJID claims.

The Commissioner, in his statement, condemned what he called hasty response to the said report by PDP, accusing the party of propagating false information.

Emelumba dismissed the CJID report as biased, jaundiced, unreliable, and absolutely misleading.

“This is a body that has shown zero capacity to execute evidence-driven assessments of media practice in the country. Little wonder they churned out a report that failed to adhere to the minimum standard of research, relying instead on hearsay and submissions from opposition elements to tarnish the image of Governor Hope Uzodimma’s administration.”he stated.

The Commissioner went further to fault the parameters cited by the report, such as denial of access to information, intimidation, and harassment, maintaining that they never represented the realities in the state.

“If the report met even a modicum of empirical rigour, including interviewing the journalists on the ground, it would have discovered that Imo is one of the most friendly and safest places for the practice of journalism in Nigeria” he further stated.

Emelumba noted that aside from what he observed as inconsistencies in the data that informed the report, at no time was any government official engaged to present the overnment’s side of the report, as an elementary requirement in the practice and regulation of journalism.

“I can bet you that no one was sent to Imo State for any survey on the subject matter. They entirely relied on secondary information cooked up for them by the opposition in the state.

“If the Centre had been circumspect and impartial, it would have found out, even from the State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists. Governor Uzodinma and his officials are fully accessible and no journalist in the State has been harassed or intimidated.” the release further informed.

The Commissioner disclosed that the State Governor has donated buses to both the State Council of NUJ and the Correspondents’ Chapel, as well as the National Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, also instituted a journalism award to encourage credible and ethical reporting, and appointed journalists to high-level positions, including the current Head of Service.

He further noted that through the instrumentation of local liaison officers and seasoned communication aides, the administration has established multiple access points for public information dissemination and media engagement.

Emelumba criticized PDP for jumping to amplify a flawed report just to score a cheap political point adding that the state government will no longer take the party serious.