Ekiti – The Chairman of The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, has charged the media to raise the bar of electoral coverage before, during and after the forthcoming governorship election in Ekiti billed for June 18.
Yakubu gave the charge during a Stakeholders’ Meeting on Political Broadcast organised by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on Tuesday in Ekiti.
The theme of the event was “Ekiti 2022: Upholding Fair Play, Decency and Equity in an Election Period.”
The INEC Chairman was represented at the event by the Resident Electoral Commissioner for Ekiti State, Dr Adeniran Tella.
Delivering a Paper on “Ekiti 2022 Gubernatorial Election Coverage: INEC Expectation from Broadcasters, he emphasised the need for broadcast journalists to be fair to all contestants and accord them equal time.
“We note with regret however, that some broadcast media, especially, state owned do so in the breach.
“The opposition political parties are usually given the shot script and blacked out while the party in power in the state is given visibility and lionized beyond measure.
“In recent times, it is also observed that the coverage of election leaves much to be desired, inflammatory and hate speeches ventilated by reckless politicians are given visibility and amplified to the detriment of the nations health.
“In some cases, the broadcast media are outrightly and brazenly biased in their reportage.
“Let us avoid this in Ekiti so as to be seen as raising the bar of electoral coverage in the state to an Internationally acceptable standard.
“At the same time, regulatory bodies such as the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) must be vigorous and remorseless in visiting sanctions on members and broadcast media which deliberately breach the cannons of the profession,” Yakubu said.
The INEC boss said that in Nigeria as well as other democratic nations of the world, the media operated as the watchdog, keeping a close tab on the electoral process.
According to him, this role brings to light some activities of the political class, including their manifestoe and campaign messages which enhances citizens knowledge of the process and assist them to make informed choice.
He said that the relationship between the media and Election Management Bodies were multifaceted,saying as communicators,the media was vehicle for communicating messages to the electorate.
“It is important to observe that in the previous elections, the report of the media on the electoral process had a high degree of superficiality.
“Some reports on the process were not properly investigated, and some basic facts were glossed over.
“In the June 18, gubernatorial election, we should be mindful of the fact that our reportage of electoral event has a great effect on facilitating credible elections and corresponding social order
“As stakeholders in the electoral system, the media is expected to maintain a high level of sustainability of their coverage of all electoral activities in the electoral cycle to ensure that records and facts are not distorted.
“For the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the state, the media are expected to possess organs and outfit for this assignment and ensure that they apply a professional acumen to their reports so as not to leave the prospective voters helpless and confused due to distorted information,” he said.
The commissioner urged every professional journalist to read and digested the new Electoral Act 2022, especially Section 94 to 97.
“I will task all journalists that will cover the June 18, gubernatorial election and beyond to equip themselves knowledgeably and understand the content of Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) and other legal instruments guiding the processes and procedures as this will assist them in no small measure in reporting the Commissions activities and issues in the electoral process in the state fairly and and accurately,” he said.
The INEC Chairman pledged to keep his door open to interface with the media on frequent basis.
He said that the commission would be ready to respond to the media at any time information concerning the electoral process were requested.
In his opening remarks, Mr Balarabe Ilelah, a veteran broadcaster and the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) urged the broadcast media to help in deepening and sustaining true democracy in Nigeria.
Ilelah, who was represented by Mrs Franca Aiyetan, the Director, Broadcast Monitoring, NBC, urged broadcast media to cooperate with INEC to achieve free, fair and inclusive election in the governorship election.
He advised them to be professional in their dealings with politicians and resist the temptation of playing politics with broadcasting.
Other papers presented at the event include: “Political Coverage in the Broadcast Media: The need for professionalism” presented by Mrs Susan Obi, the Director, Investigation and enforcement, NBC and “Political Broadcast: What the Code Says” presented by Aiyetan, among others.
The event had in attendance the general managers of some radio and television stations in the state, representatives of the commissioner of police, state Director of National Orientation Agency and Chairmen of political parties. (vitalnews)
