By Raphael Ekpang
In a bid to cushion the effect of coronavirus pandemic on newsmen working on the frontline, Baywood Foundation has donated palliatives to Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to encourage them in their reportage.
The donations which were made Tuesday in Abuja include; 1000 bags of Rice and 500 facemasks.
The Country Director of Baywood Foundation, Bar. Chukwudi Ojielo who presented the items on behalf of the foundation said that, its founder, Emperor Chris Baywood Ibeh values journalists and the role they play as frontline workers in stemming the tide of Covid-19 pandemic.
Ojielo noted that Baywood Foundation has greatly touched lives and willing to do more on human capacity development.
His words, “Coronavirus has really changed a lot of things even in the economy. There is every need to extend hands of fellowship to people we think they are critical in tackling Covid-19. We believe that NUJ is a major player in covid-19 fight and we as a foundation have come to recognize you people and what you do. Our founder, Emperor Chris Baywood Ibeh asked me to represent him due to inter-state lockdown. Otherwise he would have been here given his high respect for journalists.
“It is important that information is given to people on how to stay safe and that is what you people are doing. Media workers always go out to work every day exposing themselves to the virus and come back to their families” he said.
Accorfing to Ojiel, Baywood Foundation was a Pan African organization that was committed in changing the narratives by helping communities at the verge of extinction.
He said they were greatly interested in helping people to pass this phase of Covid-19.
Responding, the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Chief Chris Isiguzo who received the items on behalf of over 50 thousand journalists all over the country expressed his profound gratitude to the foundation saying that it was the first donation made to national secretariat.
Isiguzo said he had asked government and good spirited individuals to always remember journalists in disbursement of palliatives as they have families.
He informed that journalists were most hit during this covid-19 epidemic given the fact that other frontline workers receive special allowance but newsmen. Isiguzo said that it has become more imperative for government to do the needful for media survival in terms of providing bailout
