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From Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Executive Director, International Press Centre (IPC), Lanre Arogundade, has enjoined that for a fair, credible and peaceful governorship election in Edo State, all stakeholders must perform their roles without any bias, bearing in mind the citizens’ interest.
Besides, he stressed that “it is the public interest that should constitute the guiding principles, and not any other interest, be it partisan, cultural, religion or political.”
He gave the charge at the weekend in Benin while speaking at a two-day dialogue with media practitioners and critical stakeholders in the Edo State governorship electoral process.
Arogundade charged journalists to be guided by the laws and codes governing elections just as he also charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to conduct themselves within the confines of the Constitution, urging them not to take sides with any political party or individuals.
He explained that the dialogue was part of the activities being implemented by the IPC with support from the European Union for democratic governance in Nigeria, adding that the project recognises elections as crucial building blocks for sustainable democratic practices in any democracy.
The Executive Director who charged the police and other security agencies to ensure safety of journalists during and after the election, reminded the INEC and security agencies of the Nigeria media code of election coverage in the country.
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“Let me at this point draw the attention of the representative of the INEC, the police and the NSCDC to the fact that the Nigeria Media Code of Election Coverage requires the institutions to provide a conducive environment for the media and journalists to carry out their duties during elections.
“The government and its agency shall ensure free movement of journalists to any part of the country during elections.
“In this forthcoming Edo election, we expect the police to guarantee the safety of journalists, and for the police not to attack journalists. Where there are cases of attack on journalists, we expect prompt investigation,” Arogundade said.
He urged INEC to be proactive by providing journalists with necessary information regarding the election so as to aid factual and credible reporting of the electoral process and guide against misinformation.
One of the resource persons and the Executive Director, Journalism Clinic, Taiwo Ojo, at the event, urged journalists to leverage on modern technologies in telling their stories.
He emphasised the place of research and knowledge in journalism, stressing the need for journalists to use their professionalism in this social media age to fight misinformation as the governorship election draws nearer.
