Gov. Okowa’s CPS, Commissioner For Information At Loggerheads Over Control Of Media Team

Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Delta State governor, Mr. Charles Aniagwu and the state Commissioner for Information, Mr. Patrick Ukah are said to be currently at loggerheads over the alteration in the media team covering the governor’s ongoing town hall meetings and inspection of projects in continuation of the two years anniversary celebration of the governor.

Before now, it was gathered that after several alleged failed attempts to unseat the information commissioner, Aniagwu has allegedly picked holes in the time table arrangement by Ukah in carrying journalists in phases especially those in the state capital to have a turn in the coverage of the ongoing inspection/commissioning of projects and town hall meetings organize at the instance of the governor to feel the pulse of the electorates across the 25 local government areas of the state.

The process which had gone smoothly in the six council areas of Isoko South and North, Sapele, Ethiope West, Aniocha South and North local government areas earlier visited by the governor was allegedly altered by the governor’s CPS, Mr. Aniagwu, by injecting Journalists from the national dailies who had taken their turn in the already planned time table by Mr. Ukah.

HardReporters learnt that the action of the CPS which did not go down well with the information commissioner has created bad blood in between the two government officials.

Our correspondent gathered that the reasons behind Aniagwu’s action to form a parallel media team aside the Government House press crew against Ukah’s media team, was to project his boss, the governor through the national dailies.

“The CPS grouse is that the information commissioner instead of giving the national dailies special preference, he decided to be going with mushroom community newspapers all in the name of turn by turn.” a source said.

Another source who confided in HardReporters said, Aniagwu’s action may not be unconnected to the recent defeat his preferred chairmanship candidate, Mr. Fidelis Egugbo, Government House
Correspondent of the Pointer Newspapers suffered in the hands of Ukah’s preferred chairmanship candidate, Mr. Michael Ikeogwu, Warri correspondent of the Pointer Newspapers who clinched the contending position in the just concluded Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Delta State Council election.

HardReporters further gathered that during the governor’s first year anniversary, Aniagwu, had allegedly rattled Ukah and hijacked the event from the ministry of Information all in a bid to make Ukah irrelevant before the governor.