On April 30, 2019, reporters from various media outlets assigned to cover the induction for newly-elected and returning governors were barred from entering the venue of the event, the Banquet Hall of the State House Conference Centre in Abuja. The Federal Government-owned national broadcaster, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) crew was however allowed into the conference centre.
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari Yari, in his opening remarks on the first day of the induction, April 29, warned incoming governors to be prepared for the possibility of another cycle of recession by the mid-2020 to the third quarter of 2021. Not satisfied with the way the media reported the governor, they were barred on the second day.
The security operatives at the venue claimed the directive to bar journalists from the induction came from the NGF but the Forum denied claiming the security officials acted on their own.
The Forum’s spokesperson, Abdulrazaq Barkindo, dismissed the suggestion that the directive came from the NGF, saying the security officials took the decision without directive from the Forum.
