Report professionally to aid INEC deliver credible poll in Bayelsa — IPC tasks journalists

The International Press Centre (IPC) has urged journalists in Bayelsa State to employ the required professionalism and inclusivity to bear on the coverage and reportage of the ongoing electoral process in the state to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deliver on free, fair, peaceful and credible Bayelsa governorship elections slated for November 11, 2023.

The Programme Manager of IPC, Mrs Stella Nwofia, who stated this yesterday during a media roundtable/engagement on the forthcoming Bayelsa governorship election organised by IPC with the support European Union, said the event is organised to critically examine the interconnections between the public, the media and the electoral processes towards developing an agenda that seeks to strengthen the role of the media and the citizens in engendering a credible electoral process.

She stated that the media have a critical agenda-setting role that can enable the integrity and credibility of elections in Nigeria, urging the practitioners to demonstrate it during the off-cycle governorship election in Bayelsa State.

She said: “We believe that the media have a critical agenda-setting role that can enable the integrity and credibility of elections. Not only must news mediums take a lead role in ensuring that citizens are adequately mobilised, but they should also ensure that the entire process is accountable by being open to public scrutiny.

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“The thrust of our submissions at this workshop would be that we bring the required professionalism and inclusivity to bear on the coverage and reportage of the ongoing electoral process in the state to enable the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deliver on free, fair, peaceful and credible Bayelsa governorship elections come November 11, 2023.

“Doing the above will require that journalists provide balanced coverage of the issues in the campaigns, document the campaign promises for post-election follow-up on their fulfilment and provide an appropriate education for the voters so that they can be well informed about the candidates and their programmes and the voting processes.

“Therefore, we are here so that we can brainstorm and exchange ideas on how we can effectively play the role expected of the media in the electoral and democratic process as universally agreed.

Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, said that IPC believes the media have an important role to play in ensuring that citizens have credible information about the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State.

“The Citizens make their choices on the basis of reliable information. But it is the journalists that work in the media houses. We need to organize this programme for journalists to look at different aspects of our responsibility in the electoral process.

“We want to see accurate information, we don’t want disinformation or misinformation to take over the atmosphere such that people will not know what to believe and it is we journalists that will provide accurate and reliable information,” he said.