Senator Magnus Abe has said that regardless of the strides recorded in the transformation of the state and country, government could still do better.
Abe who spoke while on a condolence visit to the NUJ in Port Harcourt said Rivers State has done well over the years, but he said it is time to upgrade the pace of progress in readiness for the future.
He explained that Project SMA is designed to raise consciousness and get the people to have a say in matters that affect them.
Abe disclosed that consultation with the people holds the key to a brighter future, explaining that under Project SMA getting to understand what they want has become an imperative.
The governorship aspirant who insists his name would eventually be on the ballot said he was in the NUJ premises to console members of the union over the death of some of their colleagues.
Cross section of journalists who were at the NUJ Secretariat when Senator Magnus Abe paid a condolence to the union.
He said there contributions as practitioners would never be forgotten and the union and the families to take heart.
Describing journalism as an art and its practitioners as critical elements in the advancement of democracy, Abe said the arrival of the social media has impacted negatively on the goals of the profession.
He stressed that training of journalism as well as a clear need to adapt to changing developments within the mass media and society would point the way to the future.
Also speaking, an elder of the union, Chief Ogbonna Nwuke said it was laudable that Abe had come at time of great morning to commiserate with journalists in the State.
Chief Ogbonna Nwuke
He said journalists were at the centre of information dissemination and the exposure of leaders at every level, but he regretted that after making genuine and patriotic contributions they are left by the wayside to wither away.
“Your contributions “, Nwuke said, “cannot be ignored. All of you here, men, women described as Gentlemen of the press are great patriots.”
He said that Abe had come to identify with a constituency that he worked with and to mourn when they are mourning.
Drawing inspiration from the bible, the former member of the House of Representatives said, “This is the essence of thanksgiving”, asking rhetorically where are the rest?”
Stanley Job, State Chairman of the NUJ thanked the Senator for his gesture, saying he has always been a friend of the media.
Stanley Job, Rivers NUJ Chairman
He said he was not surprised that Abe opted to pay a visit to the union, adding that he has always supported the cause of journalists in the State .
Amaechi Okonkwo, Chairman of the Federated Chairman thanked the Senator for remembering the fallen heroes of the NUJ.
He disclosed that out of the four journalists who have been buried, two belonged to the Federated Chapel.
They are Joe Ezuma and the cameraman of the Sun, Obed Mpiegbulam.
Others who also been laid to rest are Sam Walson, a newspaper publisher and Callys Mbamanuh.