The Minister of Works, David Umahi, on Tuesday, walked out on journalists covering the activities of the works ministry in Abuja.
The minister abruptly exited the ministry’s conference room where the correspondents were gathered, asserting that the press was nonexistent.
The invited journalists, who had been waiting for over 50 minutes, were taken aback by the minister’s sudden departure
The invited reporters received the press invite two hours before the event.
Umahi arrived at 2:50 pm and after reciting the national anthem and pledge, quickly ended the meeting, saying, “There is no press here. The press conference is not held again. When the press is ready.
“The permanent secretary and other directors should follow me to my office. The press is not existent.”
Invited reporters present at the event included those from The Nation, The Guardian, Vanguard, Blueprint, Arise TV, Channels TV and NTA, among others.
His Spokesman Reacts
However, reacting to the reports, the minister’s Special Adviser (Media), Orji U. Orji, in a statement on Tuesday, described the reports as a misrepresentation of facts, saying that the shift of the press briefing was due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
The statement partly read, “It is to be noted that the decision of the management of the Ministry to reschedule the press briefing to a more convenient date was in good faith and was communicated to the audience of all present. My office took further steps to apologise and appeal to the revered journalists who agreed with me that the inconveniences caused by shifting the press briefing to another day were not deliberate.
“I must commend very highly the teeming members of the fourth estate of the realm who understood the explanations made by me on the exigencies that caused the deferral of the press briefing by the management of the Federal Ministry of Works. I must also invite to the altar of development journalism, the insignificant few who decided to go sensational by choosing unrelated captions to attract the interest of readers, just to smear the reputation of some of our celebrated leaders.”
Umahi noted that the ministry has an “unwavering” relationship with journalists “as we see each other as partners in the development of our dear nation.”
Umahi, accompanied by other directors, departed from the conference hall to his office without offering further explanations or an apology.
Punch