By Awwal Umar Kontagora The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) have agreed to work...
By Awwal Umar Kontagora
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ) have agreed to work together to ensure credible electoral process and strengthen democracy in Nigeria.
This was part of resolution of a day advocacy meeting convened by Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, with the tittle, "Situation Room Advocacy Meeting with the Nigeria Union of Journalists on Election Credibility in Nigeria," held on Friday at Pearl Jabi Lake Hotel, Abuja.
The event which was supported by the United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), drew participants from both the civil society organizations and the media.
Various speakers at the event took turns to highlight some challenges hindering free and fair election in the country and endangers democracy progress.
Some of the challenges as observed by some speakers at the event includes, vote buying, attacks on journalists, political interference, independence or otherwise of electoral umpire, militarizing electoral process, proliferation of fake news, among other challenges, which question the credibility of the system.
Speaking at the event, the national President of NUJ, Comrade Alhassan Yahaya said media practitioners were part of the larger society and as such must lend their voices to ensure credibility of the electoral process in the country.
He said the presence of Journalists from across the country at the event was a sign of readiness and commitment on the part of the media to partner with relevant organizations, like the civil society situation room to change the narrative and ensure that we have a better Nigeria through election process.
The President recalled that during his campaign he promised that if given the mandate he will come with innovative ideas that will build the capacity of media practitioners to work in accordance with the Nigerian constitution, through collaboration with CSOs and international donor organizations, saying the advocacy meeting is one of such innovation.
On the issue of assault on journalists during the last general election, the NUJ President said it was not a crime to be a journalist , and that allowing journalists to do their job is not a favour.
He then called on security agencies to work as partners with journalists, and that very soon a committee would be put in place to seek justice for about 89 Journalists assaulted during the last general election.
Earlier in his welcome remarks, the convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and. Development (CITAD), Kano, Malam Yunusa Zakari Ya'u recognized the media as critical stakeholder in ensuring credible election in Nigeria.
He observed that the media is a veritable tool for achieving transparency and accountability in any issue, hence the advocacy meeting, stressing the need for a strong synergy and closing gaps between civil society situation room and the media.
After an exhaustive discussion by the panelists and contributions from participants, a 20 communique was raised, among which resolutions were protection of journalists during elections by the security agencies, ensuring that non- partisan individual with good character are appointed into the electoral management board.
Other resolutions are, the elimination of militarizing electoral process, the media should hold government and public officials to account as enshrined in section 22 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Journalists should sustain reporting and public communication on issues of election credibility, Journalists should prioritize investigative and objective reporting to expose electoral malpractices and hold political actors to account, Media practitioners should step-up advocacy for policy reforms that promote press freedom, media independence, and electoral accountability in Nigeria, and that Media organizations should collaborate with civil society groups to enhance voter education and civic engagement in the country.
Security agencies were also urged to protect journalists covering elections and guarantee press freedom in line with democratic principles. The meeting also called for a greater collaboration between the security agencies and the media to prevent attack, harassment and intimidation of journalists on civic duties.
On the part of political parties the meeting urged them to imbibe internal party democracy, including keeping a proper and standard register of members, adhering to extant laws on political and campaign financing, and upholding the rule of law in their operations and practices.
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and NUJ also during the meeting, reaffirmed their commitment to working collectively to promote credible, transparent, and accountable elections and called on all stakeholders to uphold democratic principles and ensure the integrity of elections in Nigeria.
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