By Onyekachukwu Utenor
Journalists in Warri, Delta State, have received a major boost in mobility following the donation of a brand-new 18-seater bus to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Warri Correspondents’ Chapel.
The bus was donated by ManRoy Global Services Limited in partnership with Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited to ease the transportation challenges faced by journalists in the course of covering assignments and carrying out their professional responsibilities.
The vehicle is expected to provide members of the chapel with convenient transportation to assignments, particularly when several journalists are required to cover the same event or move between different locations within Warri and its environs.
Presenting the bus at ManRoy’s office along the DSC Expressway in Udu Local Government Area of Delta State, the company’s Managing Director, Mr Collins Okorie, said the donation was informed by the important role journalists play in society.
“You know in society, without journalism, information will not be disseminated. So, you are an important part of society and without you there is no society,” Okorie said.
He said ManRoy decided to provide the vehicle to assist journalists in their work, noting that the gesture was also connected to the existing relationship between the company, the NUJ and Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited.
Also speaking, the Administration Manager of Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited, Princess Daisy Jaja, said the donation was aimed at addressing the mobility challenges journalists encounter when covering events.
Jaja said transporting journalists in separate vehicles for the same assignment was often difficult, adding that the new bus would allow them to travel together.
“It’s always very hard to get pockets of people in different vehicles. But if they are in their bus, they will go together and come back together,” she said.
She noted that Tantita had maintained a cordial relationship with the NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel and had also supported the journalists through the construction of a befitting secretariat.
Describing the bus donation as a significant gesture by ManRoy, Jaja said, “It’s a very big feat that our partners, ManRoy, imagined and kept it quiet.”
She expressed hope that the vehicle would serve its intended purpose, adding, “We pray that the bus helps in every angle it’s supposed to and that fuel money nor go be problem.”
Receiving the bus on behalf of the chapel, its Chairman, Okakuro Akpokona Omafuaire, said the gesture would strengthen journalists’ ability to carry out their duties while reducing the stress associated with transportation.
“We are happy you have increased our propensity to do our jobs,” Omafuaire said.
He expressed appreciation to the two companies, saying the vehicle would also demonstrate their support for journalists wherever members of the chapel travelled for assignments.
“Driving that vehicle alone everywhere is a campaign for Tantita and ManRoy. We will drive it and use it to campaign for the company’s support everywhere,” he said.
Omafuaire said the chapel was grateful for the gesture and appealed to ManRoy to sustain its relationship with the NUJ and explore further areas of collaboration.
“On behalf of my members, we are so grateful to Tantita, we are so grateful to ManRoy, we are so grateful,” he said.
The Ovie of Great Idjerhe Kingdom and media veteran, HRM King Monday Obukohwo Whiskey, PhD, who witnessed the presentation, commended ManRoy and Tantita for the gesture.
The traditional ruler urged the companies to sustain their relationship with the NUJ, noting that journalists require adequate support to effectively discharge their responsibilities of informing the public and holding institutions accountable.
Earlier, Mr Silver Ofugara welcomed members of the NUJ Warri Correspondents’ Chapel and the traditional ruler to ManRoy’s office for the presentation.
The donation is expected to ease the transportation burden on journalists who frequently travel to different locations, often at short notice, to cover assignments and report developments across Warri and beyond.
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