Journalists in Rivers State have been tasked to use their various platforms to promote peaceful coexistence in the state.
Executive Director, De Gratia Centre for Media Rights and Education, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim made the plea in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Pastor Nsirim, a former Commissioner for Information and Communication in the state, noted that the media have a crucial role to play by dousing tension arising from the political crises in the state.
“As agenda setters, media practitioners should place peaceful coexistence at the front burner of their reportage, and analysis of the current situation in the state.
“We must shun everything that will promote violence, and make everyone in the state know that we have a shared prosperity to protect.
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“This is not the time to publicise hate speeches, but a time to disseminate information that will break down the barriers of politics, tribe and religion.
“I enjoin media practitioners to use their exalted positions to unite, rather than divide the state.” he stated.
The statement further posited that in shaping public opinion, and perception, media practitioners must ensure that they are not influenced by filthy lucre.
