Asaba 2018: Correspondents Reply Thomas, Say It Is Sad A CNN Award Winner Could Condenscend So Low…

Mr. Olukayode Thomas, the Head (Media and Publicity) of CAA Asaba 2018, has been lambasted for displaying a very low IQ of himself in his recent article of the just concluded Africa Senior Athletics Championship despite being a two-time CNN African Journalist of the Year Award winner.

This followed a recent diatribe launched against journalists in Delta state by Thomas who had reportedly wrote a “damage control” article following the controversy surrounding the poor organisation management of the five-day championship.

Olukayode Thomas

Thomas, in his article which was published in Pointer newspaper of Wednesday August 22, 2018, had erroneously linked members of the Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State to alleged unprofessional conduct during the recently concluded Championship tagged Asaba 2018.

In the said publication, Mr. Thomas was said to have made futile attempts to do a damage control following the obvious lack of organisation management during the five-day championship.

In his attempt to satisfy his pay masters, Thomas was said to have also claimed that correspondents who got accreditation later demanded for accommodation, brown envelope and transport subsidy, and also texted him their bank account details.

But in response to the allegations, Chairman of Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel, Mr. Paul Osuyi and his Secretary, Mr. Dominic Adewole in a statement obtained by BigPen Online on Wednesday told Thomas that he goofed in his bogus allegations since he could not provide evidence of the category of journalists involved.

The journalists’ chapel expressed disappointment that Thomas who ought to know that a competition of the magnitude of CAA Asaba 2018 would not be covered by state correspondents alone, had displayed lack of understanding despite being two-time CNN African Journalist of the Year Award winner.

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The journalists union averred that Mr Thomas had only succeeded in “rubbishing” his CNN award by condescending so low to satisfy his sponsors to the extent of dragging the names of Delta State correspondents into the murky waters of Delta State politics.

“It is sad that Thomas who claimed to be a two-time CNN African Journalist of the Year Award winner could condescend so low to satisfy his sponsors to the extent of dragging the names of Delta State correspondents into the murky waters of Delta State politics.

“Besides, we expect that as a media professional of so many years, Thomas should know that a competition of the magnitude of CAA Asaba 2018 is not covered by state correspondents alone, and therefore should have been specific on the category of media practitioners who pestered him for gratification.

“We, the Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel of Delta State NUJ take exception to these allegations of professional misconduct, and challenge him to produce evidence of those he alleged to have demanded gratification and texted their bank account details.

“As a matter of fact, journalists the world over, are independent minded professionals, which we expect the CNN award winner and Head (Media and Publicity) of CAA Asaba 2018 to know and be properly guided as such.

“Lest we forget that before The Pointer publication of August 22, the said report credited to Mr. Thomas had been widely circulated in different social media handles, where he also claimed that a member of the chapel…told him (Thomas) that he broke the news of the water tank collapse “because LOC did not settle him”. The said report was already trending online and even some newspapers had reported it a day before the Vanguard carried it. Therefore, it is wrong for Thomas Olukayode to say that the Vanguard broke the report of the collapsed water tank.

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“We view this allegation as another attempt to smear the reputation of members of Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel, and totally disagree with Thomas on these weighty claims. As professionals, we are bound to report issues the way they are.

“Thomas need to be educated that Asaba Correspondents’ Chapel like every other Correspondents’ Chapel of the NUJ, is not an all comers affair. It a composed of a group of seasoned professional journalists who represents reputable national media organizations.

“Furthermore, it should be noted that there an in house disciplinary measure against anyone found to have contravene journalism ethics”, the statement added.

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