By Dada Ahmed in Abuja.
A scholar,Dr Hussaini Abdul, has called on the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the media, to synergise to boost collective efforts aimed at ensuring fair,free, peaceful and credible general elections in 2023.
He made the call on Friday in Abuja while speaking on “Reflecting on the Media ahead of 2023 General Elections And Nigeria Democracy” at the three-day North-Central Training Workshop for Editors.
Abdul,who is also a Development and Humanitarian Specialist as well as a Researcher argued that while the CSOs had been engaging INEC regarding electoral preparation towards next year, experience revealed that the media had not done much in that respect.
According to him, members of the media, especially the Journalists and their gate keepers, the editors, must interrogate aspirants seeking elective positions in the forthcoming general elections,to know their past activities and for the electorate to make informed decision in voting for them.
The scholar added that this would ensure that people to be elected into leadership position were those that would fulfill the yearnings and aspirations of the people, through quality representation.
He also called on Journalists to do more in their enlightenment programme towards the forthcoming exercise by inviting the electoral umpire to explain the new electoral laws to the people for better understanding and guard them in exercising their civic responsibility during poll.
Abdul also urged Journalists to be thorough in the coverage of elections and report the results in such a manner that it would not cause rancour between electorate of various political divides.
“The way Journalists report election results will determine the manner the electorate will receive the results of the elections,” he said.
Speaking on “The Role Of Editors In Preserving Democracy,” a political Journalist from US, David Mark, called on Journalists to exercise professionalism in the reportage of elections.
He also called on Journalists to ask those in leadership position about government policies and programmes questions and get the right answer to ensure that the leadership is accountable to the led in consonance the principle of democracy.
In a remark, the President of NGE, Mustapha Issa, paid glowing tripute to the heroic role Journalists played toward the attainment of Nigeria’s independent and democracy.
He, however, called on them to focus more on the activities of those at the helm of states and local government areas to ensure leadership by accountability.
Issa condemned a situation where some state governors had become demigods in governance, adding that such action was a negation of leadership by example and the concept of accountability.
Our Correspondent reports that no fewer than 50 Editors, drawn from public and private media organisations in the country are attending the workshop, supported by the United States government.
