2019: INEC harps on debate for political office seekers

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has charged the media to ensure that all political office seekers “participate in political debate to ascertain their intellectual capacity and level of readiness to take up leadership role.”
Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Akwa Ibom state, Barrister Mike Igini, made the remarks in Calabar during a public lecture organised by Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River state Council. Igini, who was the guest lecturer, opined that with such debate electorate would hold politician accountable based on their electioneering promises. He said: “It must be emphasised that from our study tour to countries such as South Korea, we found that they have effectively used political debates to achieve purposeful leadership selection which sieves out aspirants that are ill-prepared for leadership. Political debates are also very important for internal democracy in political parties because it will enable members to elect committed party members grounded in the manifesto of the party.
“If the media is able to focus on and mobilise the electorate around the above mentioned thematic issues that have direct bearing on their well being, then they would not only have carried out an important duty in a democracy, which is to act as a watchdog for society, but they will be seen to have delivered on the three key impacts of the media during election as espoused by Professor Pippa Norris which are agenda setting, persuasion and mobilisation.”
The REC decried reported cases of electorate selling their permanent voters card for peanuts due to pervasive effects of poverty and hunger, and described poverty as one of the greatest threat to democracy in the country. He appealed to media houses, especially government-owned, to provide evenly playing ground for all to air their views, saying the media should beam searchlight on election umpires because, according to him, “manipulated elections cannot bring respect to political leaders who emerge from such processes.”
Chairman of the occasion, Mr. Chris Agara, who is aspiring to represent Cross River central in Abuja’s Red Chambers under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), charged government at all levels and their agencies to ensure safety of journalists, who he said, are always assaulted and intimidated in the course of doing their duties.
He called on political office seekers to focus on “issues that affect the people especially on how to reduce poverty through job creation, health care delivery and education,” and that politicians should “preach politics of accommodation, peaceful co-existence devoid of rancour and bitterness.” In his brief remarks, NUJ president Abdulwaheed Odusile, who was represented by National Vice President, Zone F, Eddy Ogude, charged journalists on agenda setting.