Governor Peter Mbah has made a powerful call for truth, urging government and the media to uphold transparency, evidence and accountability at the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference in Enugu.
Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has urged government and the media to meet at the point of truth, calling on journalists to move beyond headlines and political narratives by independently establishing facts through evidence, investigation and context.
Mbah made the call on Thursday while welcoming editors and other participants to the 22nd All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) in Enugu.
The two-day conference, which is being held at The Dome, International Conference Centre, Enugu, has the theme, “The Ballot, the Media and the Task of Keeping Democracy Alive,” with the sub-theme, “When Lies Look Real: Detecting and Debunking AI Disinformation Before, During and After Election.” The conference is expected to bring together more than 500 editors and other stakeholders.
The governor said government had a duty to remain transparent about its actions and accountable for its results, while the press must independently scrutinise government activities and report its findings, whether they expose shortcomings or demonstrate progress.
“Government must be transparent about what it is doing and be accountable for the results. The press must establish the facts and report the truth,” Mbah said.
He added that the relationship between government and the media should not always be defined by confrontation, stressing that both institutions had distinct responsibilities but shared an obligation to serve the Nigerian people.
According to the governor, investigative journalism becomes even more important as artificial intelligence and other technologies make it easier to create convincing but false photographs, cloned voices and manipulated videos.
“My challenge to you, therefore, is simple – go deeper, beyond the surface,” Mbah told the editors.
He cautioned journalists against conducting investigations merely to find evidence that supports positions they had already taken, arguing that rigorous journalism requires testing competing claims and reporting findings independently.
“Its value lies precisely in its independence: examine the evidence, test competing claims, establish what happened, and report what you find,” he said.
Mbah also said the same standard should apply to his administration and its critics, noting that documented shortcomings should attract scrutiny while verified progress should also be reported regardless of political narratives.
The governor used the occasion to highlight some of his administration’s development programmes, including more than 1,500 kilometres of roads constructed or reconstructed, over 7,000 classrooms, Smart Green Schools and Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 electoral wards.
He also cited the restoration of water supply in Enugu metropolis, new transport terminals, CNG buses, Enugu Air, the revival of dormant industries and the development of Enugu Smart City as part of the administration’s transformation agenda.
Mbah said his administration was working to position Enugu as an economic gateway to the South-East, with ambitions of making the state one of Nigeria’s leading economies while improving human development and quality of life.
He acknowledged the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government, particularly in areas including roads, aviation, energy and regional development.
The governor also invited the visiting editors to independently assess the developments in Enugu rather than relying solely on official claims.
“Take some time to explore the city, speak to the people who live and work here, and get a sense of the direction in which Enugu is moving,” he said.
A major highlight of the opening ceremony was the presentation of a plaque for good governance to Governor Mbah by the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
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