Elections: Kano Governor Charges Journalists with Accurate Information Dissemination

Jack Acheme

On Feb 24, 2023

The Kano state Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has urged journalists to ensure that they disseminate accurate information at the grassroots level during the 2023 general elections.

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje made the call during a one-day capacity-building workshop for information officers on election coverage, organized by the Kano state government in collaboration with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The workshop was organized to equip information officers with the requisite knowledge on election coverage, according to international standards.

‘As journalists there is the urgent need to seek for digital knowledge to enhance your capabilities.

‘Your roles and responsibilities and what you are to avoid as well as procedures governing the conduct of different media organizations and ethics governing information dissemination are very paramount,’ said the governor.

He urged participants to make judicious use of the knowledge gained.

One of the facilitators, Abdullahi Yusuf, a former deputy editor with the News Agency of Nigeria, presented a paper on “The Role of Journalists in the Coverage of Elections”. He urged practitioners to acquaint themselves with the workings of the new technology, the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), being used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in order to report accurately its success and failures during the election.

Dr. Babbyo Sule of the Federal University of Kashere, Gombe state, enjoined journalists to work along with international and domestic observers during the election but must not compromise the nation’s sovereignty and national interest.

On security, Dr. Muhammad Mustapha, Executive Director, Dispute Resolution and Development Initiative, called on journaiists to be safety-concious while covering the elections and avoid being emotional in order to enhance objectivity of their reportage.

Participants were drawn from the 44 local government areas of the state, ministries, Civil Society Organizations, the Nigerian Union of Journalists, among others.

Digital tablets were given to the information officers to enhance thier work, especially reportage from the remote areas.

One of the participants, Rab’u Khalil of the Ministry of Information, described the capacity-building programme as timely, as it would enable participants to report and document accurate information during and after the elections.

Edited by Amaka E. Nliam