TheCable

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, has asked security agencies to ensure the safe return of Tordue Salem, a reporter with Vanguard newspaper. 

Salem, a house of representatives correspondent, was declared missing after he was last seen on October 13.

Last week, members of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) took to the streets in Abuja to call on the authorities to ensure his safe return.

Speaking on Monday, Gbajabiamila asked security operatives to intensify efforts in locating the missing journalist.

“I do know that the Vanguard correspondent in the house of representatives, Tordue Salem, who has been missing for some weeks now is still yet to be found,” he said.

“I have been in contact with that leadership of the press corps and the authority that is doing this investigation since this matter came to light.

“I want to encourage security agencies not to relent in their effort to locate Tordue and bring him back to the house. I see the press corps as part of the institution and anything that torches one, torches the rest of us.”

Gbajabiamila said the work of journalists goes a long way to “shape the perception of the house of representatives and correct any misconception in the public sphere”.

“You have a critical role in rephrasing the narrative of the public about the house of representatives and in giving direction to the legislature and in propelling policies of the government. That is why those of you who practice in the institution is referred to as the fourth estate of the realm,” he said.

“The house of representatives and indeed the national assembly, like every legislature in the world is perhaps the most misunderstood institution. Some of the misunderstandings are unintentional.

“Some of the misunderstandings is sometimes political. Unfortunately, some of the misunderstanding

“It falls therefore on members of this committee to begin to educate the public to change the narrative because sometimes, we are not aware or are ignorant of unforeseen consequences of what will happen when a small committee or an institution like the national assembly is understood or misjudged.

“It has the potential of snowballing or having a larger and more dangerous effect on our democracy. That is why we look at the committee from the prism of your work which is strategic to the survival of democracy.”