The Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, has promised to collaborate with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the successful conduct of the 2023 General election.
President of NGE, Mustapha Isah stated this in Lagos, at the interactive session with INEC officials and Nigerian Editors.
He said the collaboration was part of the resolutions from the Editors’ Workshops and Town Hall Meetings with the theme, ” Media and the Task of Consolidating Nigeria’s Democracy” held in the Six geo-political zones late last year and early this year.
The areas of collaboration will cover enlightenment on Voters’ education, vote buying, and electoral offences bills.
Isah stated that it was imperative for the Editors to thoroughly interrogate the democratic landscape, political actors, candidates, the electoral umpire, security agencies, and all other groups involved in the conduct and monitoring of elections.
Journalists’ sense of Patriotism
He said; “the interactive session is designed to provide the stakeholders an opportunity to address Editors on the preparations for the 2023 general elections as Editors will also seek clarifications on different issues and ask critical questions on election matters, to bring the right information to the electorate ahead of the elections.”
Isah explained that “Nigerian journalists should be genuinely interested in the nurturing and deepening of the democratic space because they played a key role in the fight for the restoration of democracy in this country.”
He said; “Those who don’t fight for democracy may not be in a position to defend it. Little wonder that the current politicians can’t even uphold internal party democracy.”
Electorate Confidence
On elections in Nigeria, the Guild of Editors expressed confidence in the new technology introduced by INEC during the two off-season elections in Ekiti and Osun states, calling on the electoral commission to improve on its shortcomings and not to disappoint the electorates in the 2023 elections.
Appreciation
The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahood Yakubu appreciated the collaboration of the Editors and promised to deliver free, fair and credible elections.
He said that the media must monitor the electoral process and ensure compliance with the provisions of the constitution, the Electoral Act and the INEC guidelines for the conduct
the elections.
95,000 ballots
He said, “95,000 ballots will be printed for the forthcoming elections, as new voters are coming on stream through the recently concluded voters registration across the country.”
The register will be thrown open for claims and objections in the coming weeks, while 1.4 million ad- hoc staff will be employed for the conduct of the elections.
“New entrants are coming into the INEC register which has been cleaned up and ready for use after claims and objections,” INEC Chairman stated.
Editors at the interactive session expressed satisfaction with the initiative. They were drawn from print, electronic and online media organisations.
