The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State has tasked the media to set agenda for the elected representatives recently voted into office, rather than begin the clamour for the 2023 governorship race.
The party said the society expected journalists to be at the vanguard of adding value to the system through critical researches for better governance and to hold government accountable in line with the best practices.
Speaking through Comrade Ini Ememobong, its publicity secretary, during a parley with newsmen in Uyo, the PDP insisted that the campaign for 2023 governorship as being carried out by a section of the media was premature and diversionary.
The party maintained that such premature agitation would distract both the elected representatives and the electorate, depriving them of expected dividends of democracy.
Ememobong, who commended the media for the balanced coverage of the 2019 general elections noted that while the opposition in the state had the federal might, PDP won the election because of its dependence on the will of the people.
He urged the media to hold those elected into public offices accountable to ensure the victory at the polls bring tangible benefits to the people.
“Let us hold them to account, don’t start the 2023 campaign now. We suffered a lot in 2019, let us not start a new phase yet. Let us all hold our elected representatives to account,’’ he stated.
He explained that by starting the campaign for the 2023 governorship now, “you will forget about those we recently elected; it does not make sense, let us hold them accountable,’’ he said.
“In this state, it is a known fact that those who were the first to buy nomination form never win an election. Again, we all saw what happened during the just concluded elections, where all the strong men in this state failed to the divine power of God. It pointed to reasoning that there cannot be a strong man where divinity is at work.
