Politics
2019: INEC Tasks Media On Professionalism
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has advised the media to be mindful of its reportage of electoral events during the 2019 general elections.
The commission’s Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the plea at an event “Agenda for the Nigerian Guild of Editors’ Retreat’’ organised by the U.S. Mission Nigeria-Public Affairs Section in Lagos.
Yakubu, represented by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC in Lagos, Mr Sam Olumekun said that this would have “a great effect on facilitating credible elections and corresponding social order’’.
According to him, it is important to observe that in the previous elections, the report of the media on electoral process has high degree of superficiality.
“Some reports on the process were not properly investigated, and some basic facts were glossed over,’’ INEC chief said.
He said that as stakeholders in the electoral system, the media was expected to maintain a high level of sustainability in the coverage of all electoral activities to ensure that records and facts were not distorted.
“We expect the media, being a veritable tool for information disseminating, to ensure that they apply a professional acumen to their reports so as not to leave prospective voters helpless and confused due to distorted information.
“The 2019 general elections demandd that reportage of the process meets the prime concern of media coverage of elections which entails the right of voters to full and accurate information and also their rights to participate in debates and dialogue on political matters.
“Inherent to this task is the entitlement of parties to use the media as platform for interaction with the public,’’ Yakubu said.
The INEC chief, however, advised the media to resist the temptation of being used to fan the embers of ethno-religious crisis prevalent in nascent democracy.
He also urged the media to give prominence to bringing out voters through adequate sensitisation of the citizens.
The Chairman of Channels Media Group, Mr John Momoh, expressed concerns over the role of social media and the phenomenon of fake news in the nation’s media landscape.
Momoh, who spoke on “What the Future Hold for The Media’’, said that creative ideas could be transformed into innovative media products.
“The subject matter at this retreat is so appropriate. What does the future hold for the Nigerian Media?
“How do we transform creative ideas into innovative media products? How do we leverage international partnerships for profitability?
“For those of us who have been in the broadcast industry for a decade or more, we know what we mean when we say the industry has digitally disrupted.
“Today, new markets are being created, with a new set of values that now threatened the existing markets,” Momoh, who is also the Chairman, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), said.
He said that the use of social media gives a lot of concern as the 2019 Elections was approaching, because of “ease way of spreading fake news online.
“Social media, blogs and the ‘fake news’ phenomenon have all thrown the media into a precarious position.
“Those of us who still believe in the civic value of good journalism has been left in a quandary, as politicians are having a field day; taking a cue from the U.S. President Donald Trump, lambasting journalists for false reportage and balance.
“These aren’t the best times for journalists; social media, which many hoped will be a saviour with its open access and extensive reach, has actually compounded the problem by rewarding speed and sensation over accuracy,” he said.
Momoh said that broadcast and print media were faced with the challenge of unprofessionally reducing the quality of information disseminated.
“The broadcaster now faces the endemic challenge of unprofessional activities of some content producers, who create content that does not meet the minimum requirement of the objectives of the mass media.
“The unprofessional activities were all in the drive to wrongly influence the society.
“Newspapers are trying to adjust to the times by creating websites of their own, but that also leads to the decline in their print readership since they now put all their content online for free.
“A pointer to the fact that newspapers of the future will mainly take digital form,” Momoh added.
In his comments, Prof. Lai Osho, a former Dean, School of Communications, Lagos State University, Ojo, called for the strengthening of the gate-keeping in chain of news processes.
Osho noted that the media were going through tough time, ranging from economy pressure to technology arising from the activities of online/social media, among others.
The Tide source reports that the committee, reportedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, is making moves to reclaim the Wadata Plaza headquarters months after it was sealed following a violent clash between rival factions of the party.
Senior officers at the FCT Police Command told our source that while they had not received an official briefing, police personnel would be stationed at the secretariat and other key locations to maintain peace.
The Acting National Secretary of the Mohammed-led committee, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, announced last week that the secretariat would reopen for official activities on Monday (today).
He dismissed claims that ongoing litigation would prevent the reopening, saying, “There are no legal barriers preventing the caretaker committee from resuming work at the party’s headquarters.”
However, the Tanimu Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) has fiercely rejected the reopening move, insisting that Sen. Anyanwu and his group remain expelled from the PDP and have no authority to act on its behalf.
Speaking with The Tide source, the committee’s National Publicity Secretary, Ini Ememobong, declared: “They are living in fool’s paradise. The worst form of deceit is self-deceit, where the person knows he is deceiving himself yet continues with gusto.
“Even INEC, which they claim has recognised them, has denied them. They are indulging in a roller coaster of self-deceit.”
Mr Ememobong further revealed that letters had been sent to both the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police, stressing that the matter was still in court and warning against any attempt to “resort to self-help.”
“The case pending before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik was instituted by the expelled members. They cannot resort to self-help until judgment is delivered,” he said.
He warned that reopening the secretariat would amount to contempt of court.
A senior officer at the FCT Police Command, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that officers would be deployed to the area to avert a repeat of the November 19 violence that led to the secretariat’s initial closure.
“The command would not stand by and allow a breakdown of peace and order by the party or anyone else. Definitely, the police will have to be on the ground,” he said.
Another officer added, “There will definitely be men present at the secretariat, but I can’t say the number of police officers that would be deployed.”
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Josephine Adeh, said she had not been briefed on the planned reopening and declined to comment on whether officers would be deployed.
Asked to confirm whether the secretariat was initially sealed by police, she responded, “Yes,” but refused to say more about the current deployment plans.
The Kano State House of Assembly has debunked the purported impeachment plan against the Deputy Governor, Aminu Gwarzo.
The Tide source recalls that the Kano State Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, recently sparked controversy during an interview session with a local radio station.
Mr Waiya called on the deputy governor to resign for failing to follow his principal, Gov. Abba Yusuf, in defecting from the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the spokesperson to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Kamaluddeen Shawai, while addressing journalists in Kano on Saturday, described reports circulating in some media outlets about Mr Gwarzo’s impeachment as baseless and misleading, emphasising that no such plan is underway.
Mr Shawai further stated that the House remains focused on its legislative duties and oversight functions rather than engaging in speculative political manoeuvres.
The spokesperson urged members of the public and the media to verify information before sharing it, stressing the importance of accurate reporting in maintaining political stability in the state.
He said, “There is absolutely no motion or initiative within the House to remove the deputy governor.
“These reports are false and should be disregarded by the public. The deputy governor continues to serve in his capacity with full support from the House.
“Our priority is good governance and serving the people of Kano, not circulating rumours.”
She made the declaration during an interview with Nigerian football legend, Mr Segun Odegbami, during a live radio interview on Saturday.
Prof. Obasanjo, who is also former commissioner in the state, ruled out a return to the Senate, stating that her focus was firmly on the governorship race.
“So, moving ahead, I’m not going to be Commissioner. Like I said, I’m not even going back to the same party because I think that’s old and I don’t see the use of it. And I’m not going to go back to the Senate,” she said.
“Like the Americans would say, there’s no need. And this is what I told my associates, when this all started. I said, the only thing I’ll come back to do is the governorship.
“And we have started that journey. We are going to see it through. And so that’s the journey I’m on. And we are very serious about it. I mean we are very dedicated to it.”
The politician also confirmed that she recently joined the APC, explaining that her return to active politics followed persistent calls from supporters.
“Like I told you, a group of people who I did not bring together, have been working, I think, for two years now. And then they started talking to me about a year ago, saying, ‘Look, we think you are the best candidate. We want you back,’” she added.
Her declaration sets the stage for what may become a keenly contested governorship race in Ogun State ahead of the 2027 elections.
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