By: John Bassey, Kebbi.
The Kebbi State Government has called on media organisations to always verify and fact-check the content of their reports before going to press.
The Chief Press Secretary to Kebbi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Idris stated this while reacting to a report published by Sahara Reporters dated Aug. 4, 2025.
The report is titled: “Kebbi State Health Centre Turns Death Trap for Pregnant Women, Children, Reels Under Poor Facilities.”
The said publication alleged that a health facility at Unguwan Jeji had turned into a death trap for pregnant women.
“Let me categorically state that the publication is not only false but a calculated attempt to smear the good reputation of Gov. Nasir Idris and his government, which I believe will be very difficult for those behind the write-up to achieve.
“The said publication deviated from the ethics of journalism because it lacks so many elements of good news.
“It’s not a hidden fact that the journalism profession is guided and shaped by some ethics and code of conduct.
Remember, a good report must be factual, accurate, balanced, relevant, impartial, and timely, however, all these ingredients are lacking in the said piece,” he noted
The CPS clarified that the health facility in question “is an abandoned structure that is no longer in use”, adding that a new structure had been provided as the existing Primary Healthcare Centre in the area, which is structurally sound and currently functional.
The facility according to him, provides routine immunisation and other basic primary healthcare services.
He said the acclaimed facility does not offer maternal health or delivery services, making the claims of endangering pregnant women and children false, baseless, malicious and misleading.
“Don’t forget, Journalists are the mirror and watchdogs of society; therefore, they must be sincere, just, and impartial to sustain the respect and reputation built over time.
“This will make them more relevant, more useful, and more impactful for peace and stability to reign in the society as against instigating or igniting crisis,” he said.
CPS stressed the importance of balancing stories by journalists before going press in the interest of fair hearing, objectivity and promotion of ethical values of journalism.
“I am using this medium to inform the journalists that they should always verify their report before final production, I equally urge people to disregard the report as it emanated from falsehood and blackmail,” he said.
He said achievements of the governor cut across all sectors of the economy, especially in the area of health, where the present administration renovated 14 major hospitals across the state, upgraded some General Hospitals with state-of-the-art facilities to provide tertiary services to the rural populace, among others.
“It’s imperative to note that the present administration has renovated no fewer than 14 major health facilities, recruited and trained not less than 500 healthcare workers,” he added.
He said the governor recently approved the release of N500 million counterpart fund with Local Government Councils contributing N261 million into a UNICEF-CNF managed account to support nutrition interventions for malnourished children across the state.
The CPS urged the general public to disregard the said publication and urged them to continue to support the present administration under the able leadership of Comrade Dr. Nasir Idris which is striving to ensure that more dividends of democracy are provided to the people of Kebbi State.
