According to the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Nigerian journalists must play a crucial part in securing free and fair elections the following year.
This announcement was made on Friday in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, by Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, the organization’s executive director.
Rafsanjani stated that media may make or break the exercise through their reporting while addressing a one-day “journalists’ training on prioritizing anti-corruption and accountability issues during the upcoming 2023 elections”,
It cannot be overstated how important journalists are to securing free and fair elections, according to the Executive Director, who addressed through CISLAC Director of Legal, Barrister Adesina Oke.
He said, “journalists play critical role in the development of any nation.
“It is the journalists that help us to disseminate information to the public and help to form opinion which can make or mar.
“If the information is false, it can destroy the nation, but if it is true, it can help to shape the nation.
“The vital role of journalists cannot be over-emphasized. All of you here are representatives of various media organisations in the country.
“This programme is a brainstorming not a training because if you have not been trained, you will not be here.
“We want you to prioritise issues of anti-corruption and accountability as we approach the 2023 general elections. This is to ensure free and fair elections.
“The aim of this brainstorming is to let you know that you have critical role to play in ensuring accountability during the elections”.
Other speakers at the seminar were Dr. Bridget Onochie, the Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Oyo State Council, Mr. Taiwo Adebayo Hassan, Editor of Investigation for Premium Times, and Mr. Ademola Babalola, Bureau Chief of The Guardian Newspapers, Abuja.
