Abia State Government, on Monday, warned that it will not tolerate the publication of falsehood and will take recourse to law if provoked.
The state Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, said this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s State Executive Council meeting, chaired by the state governor, Alex Otti.
He said, “The state government wants to use this medium to warn in very strong terms the detractors that are going out of their way to publish falsehoods about the activities of the state.
“This state government has never been averse to criticism, particularly if they are constructive.
“What the state government is frowning at is this deliberate attempt by certain individuals to publish falsehoods with the intent to mislead members of the public. And they do this with the intent to cause disaffection amongst Abia citizens.”
The commissioner added, “The state government is using this opportunity to say that it will no longer fold its arms and watch people with such bad intentions publish falsehoods, outright falsehoods against the state government.
“While this state government will not lend itself to the gestapo style of the past where people are arrested and their fundamental human rights are breached, the state government will not hesitate to take recourse to the law to ensure that the full weight of the law is brought to bear on this set of people who still go ahead to publish falsehoods.
“There are normal ways of seeking information. When you need them, and you don’t have the intention to mislead, there are right channels to seek information. And I don’t think that this government is holding back any necessary information from Abians.
“And that is the reason we publish our quarterly results. But having said that, the state government is not compelled to do that, but we usually publish these results out of the need to ensure transparency and accountability in the way and manner the state is run.
“But what we are saying is that some individuals must not abuse this privilege. Every Nigerian and Abians in particular enjoy their right to free expression. But you know, where your right stops, is where the right of the next individual starts, more so for a government that is running the state in the best interest of its people.
“So going forward, this state government will not tolerate any such things. The government will take recourse to the laws of the land. So I believe, like they say, a word is enough for the wise”.
Kanu used the opportunity to announce that Otti has set up and inaugurated an Economic Management Team.
The governor, he said, also used the opportunity to inaugurate the Abia State Economic Management Team, whose primary mandate will be to advise the governor on the economic development of the state, with Dr. Friday Ohuche as its chairman.
