The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), has warned that disinformation would mar the 2023 general elections.
It called on political parties and their candidates to campaign within the bounds of decency and tasked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and the Nigeria Peace Committee to set up a fact check hub to monitor the peddling of fake news by political parties, candidates, and supporters before, during and after the exercise and sanction defaulters.
Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan in a statement yesterday, charged political participants to campaign on issues bordering on insecurity and economy, education, health, power and agriculture among others.
Idayat said: “While campaigns are at an early stage, frontline pro-democracy think tank, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) joins other stakeholders in calling for issues-based discussions during this campaign period.
“With an estimated 95 million registered voters deciding 1,491 election contests, including a term-limited president, it is important for governance issues affecting citizens to be at the forefront of the political debate.
“CDD urges political parties, candidates and their supporters to focus on the issues affecting the country’s governance and development. These include challenges in the security and economic sectors, and its result impact in other areas of governance, such as education, health, power and agriculture among others.
“Debates that prioritise religious and ethnic division only serve to distract citizens from making informed decisions while voting, especially since these issues do not discriminate along religious or ethnic lines.”