A journalist based in Cross River State, South-South Nigeria, Eyo Charles who was assaulted by Nigeria’s former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has been conferred with “Global Town Crier Media Award” in the United State of America.
The award is one of the several other awards received by the journalist following the verbal assault he suffered from the former Minister.
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TipsNews, a member of the Online News Association, ONA in the United States of America in a letter to Eyo Charles commended him for standing for the tenet of journalism.
Founder of TipsNews, Francis John, in the congratulatory letter to the journalist, said Charles acted maturely and was very courageous to ask a former Aviation Minister a probing question on who was bankrolling his tour to the states across Nigeria.
John added that the award is to encourage courageous journalists like Eyo Charles and to assure that the world is watching them from everywhere for their fearless and selfless services.
Charles, who works with the Daily Trust Newspaper had, during a media conference asked the former Minister in Calabar, “who is bankrolling his trips across the country”
The former Minister had before his project tour of Cross River State visited other states in the country to inspect projects and assess the performance of other governors.
Charles was curious over the basis of the national tour to inspect government projects all over Nigeria, considering that the former Minister left government over 12 years ago, and was not even a party official.
When asked who is bankrolling his trips, the former Minister flared up with the journalist and rained insults on him.
He called him unprintable names, denigrated and abused him while Charles maintained his calm.
The question had drawn the ire of the ex-minister, that he verbally assaulted the journalist at the media conference. He however rendered public apology to both the journalist and the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
